PORT TOWNSEND — Voters approved by a large margin a measure outlining the five districts East Jefferson Fire District commissioners will represent.
The commissioner districts are the third piece in the annexation of the city of Port Townsend into East Jefferson Fire-District (EJFR). Voters approved annexation in February and expansion of the board from three to five members in August.
Now voters have approved a map that includes two commissioner districts within city limits, two in unincorporated Jefferson County and another that captures a bit of both.
Initial numbers
The initial tally Tuesday night was 4,349 votes, or 74.22 percent, approving the map and 1,511 votes, or 25.78 percent, opposing it. The measure needed a simple majority to pass.
Fire Chief Jim Walkowski said that the commissioners currently on the board will continue to serve the remainder of their terms while the two districts solely within the city will be filled by the appointments.
Districts 1 and 2 are established in the county, one from state Highway 104 to the western shores of Discovery Bay and north to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the other from Chimacum and Port Hadlock to Marrowstone Island.
District 3 includes Jefferson County International Airport and the area north to the Strait, with the city’s Castle Hill neighborhood included.
District 4 includes much of Discovery Road and Hastings Avenue within city limits, and District 5 extends from Kah Tai park in the south to Fort Worden State Park, with both uptown and downtown Port Townsend included.
Once the general election is certified, the board will solicit public responses from those who have an interest in serving on the board.
Interviews could take place in December, and appointments likely would follow in January, Walkowski said.