Lakewood, University Place fire district merger to go to some voters
BRENT CHAMPACO; staff writer
The Lakewood and University Place fire districts are one step closer to an all-out merger.
Now Lakewood residents will be given a chance to vote on the proposal in April 2011. It will require a simple majority. (Only residents served by Lakewood Fire will get a vote because the measure would dissolve their department and merge it into University Place Fire.)
The University Place Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the merger proposal with its neighboring fire district to the south on Saturday.
The move comes almost a month after Lakewood fire district leaders did the same. It also comes after a yearlong study into a merger, a step that many fire districts across Pierce County have already taken.
If approved, the newly formed department would be called West Pierce Fire and Rescue.
Brent Champaco, staff writer
