Public Safety Committee sends fire-garage interlocal agreement to consent agenda

The Public Safety Committee reviewed updates to the Fire Garage Consortium interlocal agreement and agreed to place the item on the consent agenda.

Chief Bailey said the changes are textual and organizational and do not alter Snoqualmie’s financial contribution to the fire garage. “This update to the ILA, the interlocal agreement does not, change anything with our financial contribution to the fire garage,” Chief Bailey said.

The committee heard that Snoqualmie has been a member of the consortium since 2020 and that fire chiefs from member agencies hold seats on the garage board. Chief Bailey said the person listed as in charge of the garage, Mark Jones, is an employee of Puget Sound Fire and that the role is his primary assignment, not a part-time duty.

Council member Kara Christensen asked about the term limit for the garage chief and whether personnel issues would be handled by Puget Sound Fire; Chief Bailey answered that Puget Sound Fire has employment authority for its staff and that the board has, in the past, brought personnel recommendations to the consortium.

The committee also discussed several agencies that have left or changed participation in the consortium. Chief Bailey said a Snoqualmie Pass entry on an earlier draft was an error, Riverside Fire and Rescue was asked to leave because of distance and later joined a closer Pierce County department, and the Port of Seattle chose to perform maintenance in-house.

The committee did not change any monetary terms and voted informally to move the revised interlocal agreement (AB 25-004) to the council’s consent agenda for formal placement on a future council packet.

Details from the discussion will be available in the meeting record and the redline ILA submitted with the agenda.