Friday, Oct. 10, 2008

Umatilla fire district bond would pay for equipment

By Franny White, Herald staff writer

UMATILLA -- The Umatilla Rural Fire District is asking residents to approve a $1.055 million bond next month to replace aging equipment.

If it passes, the district will replace two 32-year-old fire vehicles, a ladder truck and a water tanker, buy new breathing tanks and refinance a lease purchase agreement the district signed last year for a new fire engine.

The bond will cost the average property owner 57.56 cents per $1,000, or $86.34 a year for a $150,000 home. The district already gets 85.11 cents per $1,000 for its operating expenses, or $127.67 annually for a $150,000 home.

The existing ladder truck and water tanker are past their prime and need to be replaced, Chief Michael Roxbury said. A consulting firm recently evaluated the district's equipment and recommended they be replaced, he said.

"Their opinion was these vehicles should have been off-line at 25 years, so they're seven years beyond that," Roxbury said. Many of the parts that go with the vehicles are no longer manufactured and are difficult to replace and fix, he said.

Roxbury acknowledged that residents of his district are feeling the pinch of a national economic downturn, but said it will only cost them more to buy the needed equipment later.

"It's never going to get any cheaper," he said, adding the cost of new fire vehicles has been rising 6 percent to 8 percent each year.

Fred Sheely, the fire board chair, said voters should approve the bond to support the district's mostly volunteer force.

"We should supply them with the best equipment we have," Sheely said.

The district's voters last approved a bond in 1997 to buy a new ambulance, fire engine and brush truck. That was paid off in 2004. The district has since replaced six other vehicles without raising taxes by paying for them with general operating funds, Roxbury said.

The Umatilla Rural Fire District covers 325 square miles that include the city of Umatilla and surrounding areas. It's home to about 6,400 residents, about 2,000 of which are inmates at the Two Rivers Correctional Facility.

Oregon ballots, which are mailed to voters, must be recieved by 8 p.m. Nov. 4 to be counted.

Umatilla fire bond open house

w When: Tuesday, 5-6:30 p.m.

w Where: Umatilla Rural Fire Hall, 305 Willamette Ave., Umatilla

w Why: See a model of the new ladder truck the district wants to buy and talk to fire officials about the proposed $1.055-million bond.