Moving forward

Last month citizens in Fall City turned out to vote on whether to merge our Fall City Fire Department into Issaquah Fire District 10. The merger failed with almost 54 percent voting “No.”

Despite the opposing viewpoints on the proposed merger, both sides agreed that we support our firefighters, our fire department and are willing to vote for an increased maintenance and operations replacement levy in 2020 to fund needed improvements. Examples identified during the campaign are staffing levels comparable to neighboring fire departments, and training and equipment our firefighters need to be efficient and safe.

Others and I are committed to working with our chief and commissioners to make sure they respond to the voice of the community. We have developed a list of action items in conjunction with a corresponding five-year budget showing exactly how the improvements can be funded today and in the future. We will ask that these items be acted on immediately.

Lastly, we must address “misinformation and fear mongering” statements consistently asserted by the pro campaign about the con campaign. Our campaign included people very knowledgeable about our fire department, government finance and operational management of a fire department. We were asking legitimate questions and requesting documents that legitimately should have been provided but were not. These continued assertions are frustrating, tiresome and non-productive.

Together, we can increase our level of service, provide a greater value to the community, and make the Fall City Fire Department a shining star in our community and the Valley. It’s time to move forward, roll-up our sleeves and get to work.

Robert Angrisano

Fall City