Politics & Government

Residents Grill Fire District Officials About Proposed Station Inside Big Finn Hill Park

Many question the use of public forests for a new fire station designed to improve response time for Kirkland fire and rescue crews in newly the annexed area.

More than 160 Finn Hill residents packed a public meeting Tuesday night to grill officials from Fire District 41 and King County about a proposed fire station inside Big Finn Hill Park, most of them expressing outright opposition.

Not a single person spoke in favor of the controversial location. Some expressed anger, at times noisily, about the lack of public notice in the planning process. Others expressed concern about traffic safety at the location, the need for a new station, and especially locating it inside a forested public park.

“Green space – in this case King County park land – must not be reallocated for development simply because it appears to be difficult or expensive to find an alternative site,” said Scott Morris, president of the Denny Creek Neighborhood Alliance. “Finn Hill is blessed with significant parcels of forest and wetlands; they are the defining features of this area. They are priceless recreational and educational resources. They should not be sacrificed, bit by bit, to accommodate demands for new facilities, public or private ...”

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The 1.8-acre site on Finn Hill is inside the county’s 220-acre Big Finn Hill Park, near the intersection of Northeast 138th Place and Juanita Drive. It is in an unincorporated part of King County that will become part of the City of Kirkland on June 1, when an annexation vote approved last year takes effect. The city and Fire District 41, which provides service to the area but will be dissolved when annexation takes effect, have been negotiating for months with the county to acquire the site for a new station.

Fire officials want to sell two smaller stations on Finn Hill and consolidate them into one larger station, which they say will be better located to improve response time on the hill and in newly annexed areas, and cheaper to operate. Proceeds from the sale of the existing stations would pay for the new one.

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Kirkland Fire Chef Kevin Nalder, also chief of Fire District 41, said the goal is to keep response time throughout the area to the national standard of 5.5 minutes or less. “As a fire chief, my responsibility is to save lives and property,” he noted.

Jim Lloyd, a Fire District 41 commissioner and Finn Hill resident, opened the meeting at the Mormon Stake Center on Juanita Drive, not far from the proposed site, by saying he loves and uses the park.

“I can’t say enough about how important the park is to me,” he said. “It’s been very difficult for the three of us commissioners to make these decisions for you.

"We’re here to support you and listen to you. Your feedback is very important to us in making this decision.”

Earlier the district considered another location adjacent to Finn Hill Junior High, but preliminary site studies determined that drainage and sight-distance issues would add at least $1 million to its cost. So the district entered into discussion with the county for locations in the park. The district roughly estimates a station at the proposed site would cost about $3.5 million. The county has asked that in exchange for the 1.8 acres the district include at the station a 20-space parking lot so park users can more safely access that side of the park, which is divided by Juanita Drive.

Many in the crowd said that move would only destroy more green space.

“This location is completely unacceptable,” said Craig McKinnon, a longtime resident and mountain biker who frequently rides in the park. “This is crazy. Taking these trails we’ve used all our lives is just unacceptable. Once you take park land away you never get it back.”

Many questioned the need for a new lot, noting that ample parking exists in the area. “Seems to me that’s a solution in need of a problem," said Kevin Brown, who lives off of Northeast 138th Place. “I think a lot of people here feel that green space is one of the more valuable parts of the neighborhood."

The fire officials also said there is some urgency to make a decision, because about $1 million in fire tax revenue the district has been holding in reserve for the new station will go to the Kirkland general fund when annexation takes effect June 1.

That didn’t go over well with one audience member, who did not identify herself.

“I really am offended by your using this urgency and response times to alarm us,” she said. “I see this as a detriment to the whole area. You know what? Let’s see what the city is going to do for us.”

Kirkland assistant city manager Marilyn Beard, who attended the meeting along with city councilmember Dave Asher and Deputy Mayor Penny Sweet, said it would be unlikely the city council would use the reserve money for other purposes.

A representative for Jane Hague, a King County councilmember, read a statement in which Hague said she supported “the consolidation” of the two stations. King County Parks Director Kevin Brown – not the same person as the resident who spoke – was also in attendance and said the county does at some point want to build a new parking area that would provide access to the park’s west side.

“When this proposal came forward we wanted to provide a safe place for people to access those trails,” he said. “We do hear there will be impacts.”

That did not ease the concern of many.

“I’m really not happy with King County and Jane Hague giving away our forest land,” said McKinnon.

In February, and angerwhen a backhoe crew cut several tracks through the site and cleared three small areas to take soil samples. The work was part of a preliminary site analysis, conducted with a special use permit issued by the county.

But the work was done without any public notice and took residents by surprise. Fire District Commissioner Richard Krogh called that incident “unfortunate” and said the contractor doing the work had failed to notify the district and county.

Big Finn is an expansive park of mostly native coniferous forests, designated a regional park by the county, which will retain control when the area becomes part of Kirkland. It includes four developed baseball fields, a soccer field and playground. Big Finn's forests, along with those of the adjacent 400-acre Saint Edward State Park, still host black-tailed deer, bald eagles, hawks, owls, coyote, raccoons and many other native species.

Partway through the meeting Lloyd, the commissioner, clearly appearing moved, said the comments would have an impact.

“You are all bringing up good questions,” he said. “We are going to have to go back and talk about this. There are issues you’ve brought up we haven’t thought about. What you’re saying is making a difference.”


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