Woodinville Fire & Rescue, Bothell Officially Talking About Annexation

Woodinville Fire & Rescue (King County Fire District 36) and the City of Bothell are in talks about annexing portions of unincorporated Woodinville into Bothell.

“This is not an interlocal agreement,” said Deputy Fire Chief Mark Chubb who is representing the fire district in the talks. “It’s a subtle difference, but it means both sides are negotiating on the terms of entering into an ILA.”

The District entered into annexation talks with Bothell about a month ago, according to Chubb. Since then, the two parties have meet three times trying to outline operational changes in firefighting and emergency coverage for the areas in question.

Bothell wants to annex portions of unincorporated Snohomish and King counties. In Snohomish County, voters in parts of the proposed annexation area will decide in November whether to move forward. In King County, the process doesn’t need a vote if the city and King County agree to the move.

The proposed parcels (see map) are within Bothell’s sphere of annexation under the Growth Management Act. While the annexation itself represents removal of only 3 percent of land from the fire district’s coverage, it will mean an 8.6 percent loss in revenue, according to Chubb. That could result in a $1 million loss in revenue for the district.

Bothell first proposed the annexation back in August 2010. The District was not ready to talk in wake of the . That annexation, completed on June 1, resulted in the loss of six firefighter positions and the closing of one fire station. Chubb said the District wants to avoid any similar losses in the Bothell Annexation.

“We need to look at the impact of this annexation not just in terms of the impact on citizens in the annexed areas, but the impact on all citizens. We need a plan we can both agree on rather than slide into an ILA just from their needs,” he said.

Bothell Fire Chief Bob Van Horne agrees, saying the current talks are a way of making sure both agencies do what is best for residents.

“We’re looking at all factors and talking with the District in the hope that we can proceed with the annexation,” Van Horne said.

Chubb said the District is researching the possibility of sharing coverage of the proposed areas to be annexed.

“We’ve reached agreement on what the issues are, now we need to research how it would work,” he said.

Chubb estimates it will take at least a month before another annexation meeting is scheduled.