We have been working nearly eight years on a proposal to improve life-saving fire and emergency medical service in the Finn Hill area. The proposal is to consolidate the service areas of two fire stations (stations 24 and 25) into one that would deliver better service, save money and meet current national standards.
Station 25 was built 50 years ago when Finn Hill was mostly rural and is now located too far south and west to meet current response time standards for east Finn Hill and the north part of the district. Station 24 on 84th N.E. could serve those areas, but revenue shortfalls have resulted in the elimination of daytime staff and will end stipends to the volunteers who staff the station at night.
As commissioners, we have wrestled with three choices: accept the reduction in services and do nothing; consolidate services at Finn Hill Jr. High School at a premium cost; or build at a less expensive, flat site in Big Finn Hill Park and add a new amenity for park users.
We spent a lot of time and work to find that the Finn Hill Jr. High site’s terrain (steep slopes and wetlands) would make it very expensive to build there. It would be over $1 million more than if we choose the Big Finn Hill Park site. Although we haven’t made a final decision to even build a station, we haven’t found any other site close enough to Juanita Drive and the center of Finn Hill that isn’t either more expensive to purchase or to build on due to the terrain.
King County’s Big Finn Hill Park is part of a major trail system that includes St. Edwards State Park. The portion west of Juanita Drive has no parking for visitors. Unfortunately, the county lacks funding to build a parking lot, so mountain bikers park at QFC or compete for spaces in the crowded lots near the ball fields on the east side of Juanita Drive.
Last year we began exploring the possibility of using 1.8 acres of this 218 acre park for a fire station and a joint parking area available for trail users. After the experience with unexpected costs on the school site, we wanted to know more about the feasibility of such a project before getting too far into planning.
So, we directed investigations into possible restrictions due to wetlands, traffic engineering, zoning, utilities, stormwater run-off and soil conditions. We asked our architect to provide a feasible site lay-out and cost estimates and held discussions with King County Parks and the City about partnering. This preliminary investigation has brought us to a point where we can explain it to the public.
The Big Finn Hill Park site is an option only if we can avoid the kind of expensive and invasive work needed at the Finn Hill Junior High site. We stopped considering the school site when projected costs reached more than $4.5 million – $1 million more than the rough estimate for the park site. We have $1.5 million in reserves and would sell the two closed station to help pay for most of the new station costs.
If we move forward with the park site, we are committed to a low-impact design and a building positioned so all of the trees and natural vegetation along Juanita Drive, and as many significant trees and natural vegetation as possible, are preserved and augmented with native plants.
While the recent focus has been on the potential site for a new fire station, the real issue is whether we want to give firefighters and medics a new advantage in reaching us in time when we need their help. We know there will be trade-offs with any site that is chosen, but we agree with the Kirkland Fire Chief and favor strategically locating a new station to improve response times.
We want to hear from all residents and businesses in Fire District 41. We have briefed the Kirkland City Council twice and last December met with the Denny Creek Neighborhood Alliance and the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance about the possibility of the station at the park site.
We invite you to join us and Kirkland’s Fire Chief and Deputy Chief at a public open house to learn more at 7 p.m. March 8 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Kirkland Stake Center, at 132nd and Juanita Drive.
Jim Lloyd, Richard Krogh and Toby Nixon are commissioners of Fire District 41, which provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the unincorporated area of King County, including Finn Hill, North Juanita, and the portion of Kingsgate west of 124th Ave. N.E.
