New fire station expected in 2028
Published 1:30 am Monday, May 18, 2026
SEQUIM — Clallam County Fire District 3 has taken the next steps toward a new Carlsborg Fire Station 33.
Fire commissioners unanimously agreed on May 5 to contract with Aetta Architects of Tacoma to handle the structure’s project management and architectural and engineering services.
The contracts, once reviewed by the district’s legal counsel, are worth $807,200 for architectural and engineering services, and $215,000 for project management, for a total of about 17 percent of a projected $6 million budget.
According to Aetta’s contract, the numbers are estimates based on hours to be expended, and once they’re at 90 percent of the total fee, they’ll discuss with district officials the remaining scope of work and determine through mutual agreement whether an additional fee is required.
The new station, planned for construction at the Training and Operations Center, 255 Carlsborg Road, will be 8,000 to 9,000 square feet with three apparatus bays for up to six apparatuses, sleeping quarters, a day room, kitchen, showers, restrooms, a cardio/fitness area, a shop, decontamination room, personal protection equipment (PPE) storage and additional storage.
It will be built under a design-bid-build process with one phase and one bid package, and it’s anticipated to be a pre-engineered metal building (PEMB) with metal siding, according to district documents.
In total, the project will take about 20 months to complete.
Fire district documents state it will take about nine months to prepare construction documents and submit them for permits, depending on Clallam County permitting time, with construction taking 10 months followed by a one-month closeout.
“The goal is to break ground in 2027 and have (staff) in there in 2028,” fire commissioner Mike Mingee said.
Fire Chief Justin Grider said the district’s legal team should have the contracts with Aetta reviewed in the coming weeks.
The contracts state the fire district will pay for permitting and that they already have a conditional use permit.
Funds will come from the sales of multiple properties in recent years, including the Lost Mountain Fire Station property, district capital funds, grants, donations and municipal bonds.
Misty Shaw, the district’s finance director, wrote in an email that the district has nearly $1.6 million in funds set aside for a new station with about $450,000 from property sales.
In March, commissioners agreed to pursue a non-voted bond with D.A. Davidson & Company to serve as a bond underwriter or placement agent to assist with financing the remaining portion of a new station with either a limited tax general obligation bond or a private bank placement.
In February, Shaw said a $5 million loan at 4 percent interest would cost $7.3 million over 20 years while paying back about $366,000 a year. At 6 percent interest, it would cost $8.6 million over 20 years with an annual payment of about $433,000.
Commissioners have said they believe a station could be built for less than $6 million and require financing of just less than $5 million.
Grider said once the contracts with Aetta Architects are approved by the district’s legal team, they’ll bring a representative from D.A. Davidson to a commissioners’ meeting to discuss options.
Relocating Carlsborg Fire Station 33 from 70 Carlsborg Road was identified by the fire commissioners last year as the most immediate capital improvement in the district. They’ve also sought options to address its inadequacies since 2023 and sent out a request for qualifications (RFQ) for project management services for station 33 last December.
Carlsborg Station 33 was built as an unstaffed station in 1964 and remodeled in 1972, 1982 and 2023.
Its size, age, deferred maintenance, lack of adequate dormitory and support facilities and undersized apparatus bays have been a growing concern for district officials for years, staff members said.
It also was evacuated last year for two days due to a pest infestation, and a 2024 structural engineer reported that the building “lacked the required seismic resilience for critical infrastructure housing emergency resources and first responders,” according to district documents.
For more information about Clallam County Fire District 3, visit ccfd3.org.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.
