Fire-ology firegeezer on 14 Aug 2008 10:57 am
Rural FD Wants To Seize Private Home
THE GETCHELL FIRE DEPARTMENT in Snohomish County, Washington has outgrown its firehouse and wants to build a new one. The rural FD is in an isolated area surrounded by farms and lots of open land.
But Fire Chief Travis Hots says that the only place that will suffice is right across the street from the existing firehouse. But the property across the street holds a century-old farmhouse that has been lovingly restored by its current owner who call it his Paradise and he doesn’t want to sell.
But the Getchell FD is determined and they are starting procedures to seize the property under the eminent domain laws of Washington.
KING-TV Seattle is covering the story, but they don’t say why it isn’t possible for the FD to just take some of the land adjoining the station and just expand. This will be worth keeping an eye on.
Watch the KING video report:
on 14 Aug 2008 at 11:24 am 1.Dal90 said …
Interesting…if you think the Chief looks young now, he was appointed when he was 23:
http://209.85.215.104/search?q=cache:lOYNbHvcEdkJ:www.lakestevensjournal.com/archiveissues/2006%2520Archieves/june-28-06/june-28-story3.html+getchell+fire+station&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us
Found that while searching for the address. Here’s the Google Maps:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=8424+99th+Ave.+NE+Snohomish,+WA&sll=48.069333,-122.10145&sspn=0.02191,0.037422&ie=UTF8&ll=48.07209,-122.097931&spn=0.002739,0.004678&t=h&z=18
One look at the land around the firehouse tells you this is either:
1) Big Fish Syndrome and a very young, cocky Fire Chief is making waves in his small pond;
2) Small Town Syndrome and someone on the district board has a vendetta against the home they’re trying to seize;
3) One of the board members, fire chief, or their friends own the open space by the existing station and don’t want to sell it for fair market value so they’re getting the district to use emminent domain on someone’s elses property instead;
or
4) Whoever owns that open space around the firehouse figures the value of their land will go up with the fire station moved across the road and can later sell it for much more then the land is worth currently.
There is plenty of open space — especially adjacent to the existing facility — that no use of emminent domain is necessary. There is no rational way you need to take a home in this situation.
Never mind emminent domain, why would you waste taxpayer money to buy and tear down a residence with that much open space adjacent to your current station?
on 14 Aug 2008 at 4:07 pm 2.FireBoss said …
Yeah, checked the Google site and you’re right. The place is surrounded by open space!
on 21 Aug 2008 at 7:25 pm 3.Neighbor said …
The interesting thing is, the fire district built a brand new ’station number 2′ a couple miles down the road. AND THEN SOLD IT!
on 23 Aug 2008 at 2:00 am 4.Debbie said …
Doesn’t make sense. All the land surrounding the fire house and they want to tear down someones home. Isn’t a firefighters job to protect the people in their community? What a waste of taxpayers money.