FERNDALE, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The second time appears to be the charm for a local fire district that saw its last attempt at a property tax levy rejected by a single vote.

Whatcom Fire District 17’s proposal is favored by almost 55% of voters in the preliminary count of ballots from Tuesday’s primary.

Campaign co-chair Jeanne Carroll told KGMI that the increase in funding is needed to move their station to higher ground.

“In 2022, we flooded in January, and we flooded again in December with more than $750,000 worth of damage, enormous disruption of course to our ability to serve our citizens as well as continue to train our team,” Carroll said.

She says the station almost flooded again last January which would have made the facility un-insurable.

The volunteer force is also aging, and Carroll says some of the funding with also be used to hire professional personnel.

Fire District 17 serves neighborhoods around Sandy Point and western portions of the Lummi Indian Reservation.