After investing nearly $400,000 on a new building on Heller Road, North Whidbey Fire and Rescue commissioners this week agreed to formally abandon the plan and instead buy an existing building on Midway Boulevard.
During their regular meeting Tuesday, April 12, the board approved a resolution to purchase what is commonly known as the Chicago Title building for $1.55 million. The three-story structure will be used as the district’s administrative headquarters – housing a total of seven people – and as storage space.
Although the real estate deal has not yet closed, district officials are confident it will soon and that a discussion that’s spanned several years will finally come to a close.
“We’ve been rasslin’ this thing for quite a while,” said Commissioner Jerry Goen, in an interview Friday morning.
The board began an effort to build a new administrative and public meeting building on Heller Road in 2009 to replace the existing facility. It was built in the 1960s and despite a remodel is both too old and too small for office staff.
The effort was later abandoned but then picked up again. It was put down for good Tuesday when commissioners voted to buy the Chicago Title building, but that was only after about $400,000 had been invested on plans for the Heller Road building. The money was spent on design and city fees.
According to Goen, the lost investment is unfortunate but buying the existing building money made the most sense. Constructing a new building was expected to cost upwards of $2 million, he said, and would take time to complete.
The existing building is already standing and is large enough that it should handle district growth for years to come. A third benefit is that the existing tenant, Chicago Title, will remain as a renter.
“It’s a source of income,” Goen said.
Not all the commissioners were in favor of buying the existing building, however. Goen and Commissioner Bruce Carman cast “yes” votes while Commissioner TJ Lamont voted against. Lamont could not be reached by press time but Goen said Lamont preferred instead to proceed with the new building on Heller Road.
The building is owned by John Peth & Sons Inc., a cattle ranching company based in Skagit County. According to fire Chief Marv Koorn, the deal is expected to close by May 1.
“There are some details that need to be worked out but price is not one of them,” Koorn said.
The money to purchase the building came from the district’s building fund, a pot that Koorn said has received yearly contributions since 2003. The current balance is $2.7 million but it will decrease to $1.2 million once the deal is finalized.
Koorn recommended the board approve the resolution and maintains that it was the appropriate decision. The existing facility is so crowded “you can hardly move around” and constructing a new building may have cost even more than $2 million. He estimated that the decision actually saved about $750,000.
“I think it was the best decision for the district and the taxpayer,” he said.
According to Koorn, the remaining money in the building fund will be put toward the replacement of the Cornet Bay station, which he said is “crumbling,” and a new station on Van Dam Road. It replaces old facilities on Zylstra and San de Fuca.
