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Voters to decide fire district annexation By Dani Dodge People who live in Fire District 5 will vote in March whether to annex another 13 square miles east of Ashland into their fire district protection area. Dorothy Mitchell, 75, who owns property within the proposed annexation, gathered more than 100 certified signatures to force the election and handed them over to commissioners at a public hearing Wednesday. Commissioners agreed � with Ric Holt abstaining because he�d signed one of the petitions � to put the issue on the ballot. At the meeting, though, Mitchell gave the commissioners one last chance to avoid an election. She said she would stop her effort if the commissioners would just take out the annexation area that include her property. County Commissioner Sue Kupillas said it was too late. "We�ve passed that point," Kupillas said, noting the commissioners had set the boundaries for the proposed annexation after the last public hearing. Mitchell then handed over the signatures, saying: "We�ll just wait on the election and let the chips fall where they may." Annexation would expand the district from mile marker 3 on Dead Indian Memorial Road to the summit at Buck Prairie Road. Area residents seeking fire and extra emergency protection requested the annexation last year. The District 5 board of directors supported the request and county commissioners approved it 2-1 in December, with Holt opposing. The district�s tax rate is $3.19 per $1,000 of assessed value, or $319 per year for a $100,000 home. Whether the annexation will lower rates for current Fire District 5 residents will depend on budgeting issues, according to district chief Dan Marshall. At previous public hearings, supporters pointed out that being included in a fire district would lower their insurance rates and provide more protection. But Mitchell, a 40-year resident of the area, said she�s concerned that she and her neighbors won�t get their money�s worth. "By the time (firefighters) got here, you know what they�d find? Smoldering 2-by-4s and ashes," Mitchell said. "The reason I�m opposing it is it won�t save any houses." Firefighters, though, contend they will be able to adequately protect the rural area from home fires. Currently the area has forest fire protection, but not protection for homes. Kupillas said later that the areas Mitchell wants to exclude from the fire district are in the heart of the annexation, and to withdraw them "would destroy the integrity of the proposal." Kupillas said she�s pleased the issue is going to a vote. "Quite a number of people wanted this annexation," Kupillas said. "We felt if enough people were interested it would go to an election and that�s a better way for settling this than us making a decision." The annexation will be decided by the district�s 8,545 registered voters in a March 13 election. The district currently encompasses 105 square miles from Carpenter Hill and Fern Valley roads near Phoenix south, excluding Phoenix and Ashland. In other action, the county commissioners approved 2-1 (Jack Walker opposing) continuation of a program in which drug addicts can exchange used needles for clean ones. The commissioners also appointed Kupillas as chairwoman of the commission and Holt as vice-chairman. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.