Lake Chinook Fire bond would fund new station
Bend isn’t the only Central Oregon fire district with a money measure on the May 20th ballot. Lake Chinook Fire & Rescue has proposed a $660,000 general obligation bond (Measure 16-72) to the district’s voters to fund construction of a new fire station.
Here’s the rest of their information, as provided in a news release Friday:
The fire district covers approximately 40 square miles and serves the communities of Rim Park, Air Park, Forest Park, and the Three Rivers Recreational Area located on the south shore of Lake Billy Chinook. The District has a full-time paid fire chief and 16 volunteer emergency responders and support personnel.
LCF&R is currently operating from a small building leased from the Three Rivers Landowners Association. This lease was intended to be short-term and accommodate LCF&R until it could build its own fire station.
The Landowners Association members donated a parcel of property to the fire district to build a new station. A fire station on this donated property will provide a more central location within the service area.
The proposed project will includea fire station that will house fire apparatus indoors, ready to respond to an emergency year round. The current facility does not have adequate room to store all of the emergency vehicles leaving tenders and the large apparatus drained and out of service from November through May.
The proposed station project also includes meeting and training space as well as a facility to house on-duty firefighters and medical responders, shortening response times.
The location of the new station provides an opportunity to improve the District’s insurance rating and potentially reduce the cost of fire insurance to homeowners.
The average annual tax rate needed to repay the general obligation bond is estimated at 50.9 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
“The new station will be a great asset to the entire fire district”, said Fire Chief Don Colfels, “It will help us improve service to all of the communities within the district.”
For more information, call Chief Don Colfels at 541-977-0988, or email don@lakechinookfire.org
