ENDORSEMENT: Vote for fire department bond

Since 2005, the city of Coeur d’Alene has funded its fire department’s apparatus and facilities through General Obligation Bonds, not out of the city’s General Fund. The bond in 2005 finished Station 3 and Station 1, replaced our apparatus, and freed up funds to increase firefighter staffing. In 2015, the General Obligation Bond built Station 4 on Atlas and replaced our apparatus.

These bonds are not run on wants, they are run on the needs of the fire department, and thereby, the citizens of Coeur d’Alene. The department’s call volume has increased 35% since our last bond in 2015, that’s 35% more wear and tear on our apparatus. Last year, we were forced to retire a reserve engine and ladder truck, leaving us with only one backup engine. That means that any routine or emergency service leaves the city with the bare minimum.

Station 2 is the busiest station in the city, with more than 35% of the department’s responses originating from it. It was built in 1992 for just two firefighters, it now has five men and women working out of it 24/7, 365 days a year. Recently, it was discovered that due to ice dams, it has a black mold problem which will need remediation.

As a proud resident of the city of Coeur d’Alene, I am asking you to please join me, in voting “In Favor Of” the GO bond this May 20. Help give us the tools to help you when you need it most.

GABE ECKERT

Coeur d’Alene