Chehalis City Council approves settlement with Lewis County Fire Districts 5, 6 concerning annexation effort
The ongoing Chehalis annexation appears to have a green light moving forward after the city and two neighboring fire districts came to a legal settlement in a lawsuit that threatened to sink the effort.
The Chehalis City Council on Monday night adopted a resolution to ratify a legal settlement agreement with Lewis County Fire Districts 5 and 6 and adopt a required annexation mitigation agreement required by the settlement.
The agreements chart a path forward for the Chehalis annexation, including service contracts between the parties to maintain emergency services in the area over the next five years.
The terms of the settlement agreement can be split into two groups: immediate actions and long-term agreements.
The immediate changes require the groups to lay to rest all pending and active litigation, including the lawsuit from the fire districts challenging the Chehalis annexation process.
The long-term agreements detail a list of financial and service agreements to make both parties happy and maintain current emergency service levels.
While presenting the settlement to the city council, Chehalis Fire Chief Adam Fulbright announced that all parties had reached a legal settlement roughly two weeks prior, adding that the settlement was in the best interest of all parties.
"To avoid prolonged litigation and ensure the continuity of fire and EMS services to the citizens of the urban growth area, the city entered into negotiations with the districts and reached a settlement," Fulbright said.
The City of Chehalis and Lewis County started down the road of annexation late last year after the two approved an interlocal agreement to launch the process and officially shift responsibility for the Chehalis urban growth area to the city. The city council approved the interlocal agreement Nov. 24 with the Board of Lewis County Commissioners following suit a week later on Dec. 2.
Lewis County Districts 5 and 6 aired concerns during multiple public hearings with both local governments ahead of the interlocal agreement. Comments included warnings that the districts would file a lawsuit if annexation moved forward.
The districts filed their lawsuits against both the City of Chehalis and Lewis County in December in the two days following county approval. The suit alleged the districts weren't given a chance to participate in the annexation process.
According to the lawsuit, the districts claimed annexation, which would shrink both fire districts, would bring financial harm by reducing tax revenue and requiring the districts to transfer assets to city ownership. They added that annexation could harm residents of the Chehalis urban growth area by reducing the quality and response times of emergency services.
Immediate action
The draft version of the settlement between the parties included in the Chehalis City Council meeting agenda lays out the majority of the immediate actions required of the parties and states that the parties came to the agreement without any legal admission of wrongdoing on either side.
Concerning litigation, the settlement includes a no-contest provision that will bar the fire districts from legally challenging the Chehalis annexation process. The provision requires that the districts dismiss all pending or active litigation filed in Lewis County Superior Court within 10 days of both parties agreeing to the settlement.
The no-contest provision also states that the districts will withdraw a request for review of the annexation submitted to the Washington state Boundary Review Board for Lewis County. The local boundary review board has a public hearing scheduled for the matter on May 19. The hearing is likely to still move forward after residents of the annexation area submitted a petition to the county.
On a more personal note, the immediate impacts of the settlement include a "non-disparagement" clause that bars all parties from making negative statements on the parties, including in social media posts.
Long-term agreements
The more complex part of the settlement and attached annexation mitigation agreement lays out terms for the relationship between the three parties moving forward. The agreement for the most part addresses the fire districts' financial and service concerns.
Under the two agreements, the city agrees to contract with the two fire protection districts for emergency services in the parts of the annexation area that they currently serve. The service contract will stay in place through the end of 2027 at a minimum and possibly through the end of 2031. The city will be able to take over service of the annexed area anytime after 2027 once it shows the ability to provide emergency services at "current or improved levels."
To meet that criteria, the city will need to establish a new substation of the Chehalis Fire Department within the annexation area, staff it with at least two personnel available to respond at all times and receive a stamp of approval from the fire chief of the Riverside Fire Authority - currently Kevin Anderson - who will serve as a non-partial third party.
The city will be able to initiate an inspection every quarter starting in November 2027 to verify if it meets the criteria to take over emergency services.
In exchange for services in the meantime, the city will make no payment this year, but instead allow the districts to retain their current tax revenue. In 2027, the city will pay $750,000 to the two districts. The payment is expected in full at the start of the year.
The annexation mitigation agreement stipulates yearly payments for services beyond 2027 extending through the end of 2031 in the event that the city does not meet the necessary requirements to take over services. In 2028, the city would pay $850,000, with that sum increasing by $25,000 every year thereafter through 2031.
The payments beyond 2027 will be made quarterly to coincide with the city's opportunities to meet the necessary service criteria.
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