The Warrenton Fire Protection District is selling its inactive station house in Pendleton, a move Chief Anthony Hayeslip says will stabilize the district’s finances for a few more years.
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The Warrenton Fire Protection District is selling its inactive station house in Pendleton, a move Chief Anthony Hayeslip says will stabilize the district’s finances for a few more years.
The fire district released commentary about the sale Thursday, Jan. 7, three days after passersby noticed a large “For Sale” sign outside the station. The Pendleton station on Highway B was built in 1999 to house vehicles and equipment for local volunteer firefighters.
Chief Hayeslip said the fire station is the latest and largest asset put up for sale to cover operating costs that exceed revenue.
“It was a difficult decision, a very difficult decision,” said Hayeslip. “Financially we have exhausted all our other options.”
The district has increased career firefighter staffing multiple times over the last six years to keep up with increasing demand for service, but meeting that demand has drained the district’s finances.
“The only choices left to us were to continue to take out loans and incur even more debt to cover our fiscal shortfalls – which made no sense at all – or to begin to sell assets,” Hayeslip stated.
The Warrenton Fire Board of Directors voted in December to approve selling the station, according to a draft of the board’s meeting minutes. The station is listed for sale at $399,000.
The listing is the second fire station the Warrenton District has put up for sale. The district’s oldest station at 706 S. Highway 47, which has been used only for storage for more than a decade, has been for sale for over a year. It is currently listed at $179,999.
The district has also sold multiple fire trucks and retired two other vehicles, according to the statement released last week.
Hayeslip told The Record these moves will buy time and provide a reserve fund in the event of unexpected repairs to vehicles or facilities.
“But it’s a one-time shot of money. It’s not a continuous flow,” Hayeslip told The Record. “It’s not going to be something we’re able to sustain over the next three to five years. ... We’re rapidly going to be right back where we are now.”
Hayeslip said the fire district has a committee examining every possible way the district can generate revenue or cut expenses over the next five years. The district has recently come to voters with multiple tax proposals, all of which were turned down. Any new tax wouldn’t be collected now until 2022, Hayeslip said.
The chief also addressed an issue concerning the agent selling the fire stations, Stacey Blondin. The co-owner of Main Street Real Estate recently announced that she will seek election to the fire district board of directors in April. Hayeslip said there won’t be any issues as long as Blondin isn’t involved in decisions regarding the two stations.
