August Primary Early Results

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Methow Valley News

Early primary returns: ‘Yes’ to annexation and hospital levy; Kline and Liu advance to general election
By Don Nelson
Early returns from the Aug. 1 primary showed the proposed annexation of the Town of Twisp to Okanogan County Fire District 6 being handily approved by both town and district residents; the renewal of an excess levy being approved by voters in Okanogan and Douglas Counties Hospital District No. 1 (Three Rivers Hospital); and Methow Valley School Board incumbent Frank Kline and challenger Mike Liu moving on to the Nov. 7 general election for a seat on the board.
The Okanogan County Auditor’s Office released results from the first batch of counted ballots shortly after 8 p.m. on Tuesday. The next tally will be released on Thursday (Aug. 4).
ANNEXATION
Twisp’s annexation to the fire district seems assured by the early vote totals. Within the town, the early vote was 184 yes votes (86%) to 31 no votes (14%). Fire district residents were approving the annexation by 1,416 yes votes (93%) to 114 no votes (7%). Each of the jurisdictions has to independently approve of the annexation for it to pass.
If the annexation is approved, Twisp residents will see their taxes increase by 61 cents per $1,000 of property value when they become part of the district.
Currently the town has an agreement with the district to provide fire protection services in Twisp through 2023, at an annual rate of $60,000. That agreement is renewed each year.
The “effective date of annexation” would be the date on which election results are certified by the county, in this case Aug. 15. If an annexation is approved, the existing fire protection agreement would remain in place until the district began taxing town residents in 2024.
If Twisp becomes part of the fire district, town residents will be eligible to vote in elections affecting Fire District 6 operations, and will be eligible to run for positions on the district’s board of commissioners. Currently, Twisp residents have no direct say in the operation of the fire district.
The Town of Winthrop annexed into the fire district in 2017, leaving Twisp as the only valley town still contracting for protection. Winthrop had also previously had contracts with the fire district for protection.
District 6 is the largest fire district in the state, covering 300 square miles of rural terrain from Gold Creek to Lost River with four fire stations.
HOSPITAL DISTRICT
Three Rivers Hospital in Brewster asked voters, including residents of the Methow Valley, to renew a one-year property tax levy to support the hospital’s 24/7 emergency department services.
In Tuesday’s returns, the combined total for the hospital district levy proposal was 1,828 (70%) in favor of the levy extension and 798 (30%) opposed. In Okanogan County, the vote was 1,707-661 in support of the levy. Douglas County residents of the district were voting against the proposal, 137 no to 121 yes.
The proposed levy rate of 33 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value is the same as that was approved in 2022 for the current year. Three Rivers Hospital would receive about $1,145,000 in 2024 from the excess tax levy.
District voters approved a levy lid lift in August 2016 for a perpetual property tax levy. The maximum amount that can be collected is 75 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, and the current rate is about 54 cents per $1,000. These levy funds account for about 5% of the hospital’s total annual revenue.
SCHOOL BOARD
In the three-way race to determine who will advance to the Nov. 7 general election, Kline drew 1,088 votes (61%); Liu 520 votes (29%); and JT Sawyer 162 votes (9%).
Kline, a real estate agent, is running for his sixth four-year term on the board. Liu had a 36-year career with the U.S. Forest Service, the last nine as Methow Valley district ranger. Sawyer has worked as a wildland firefighter and smokejumper and, for the past five years, has run a commercial fishing business in Alaska.
In all races with two or fewer filed candidates, those candidates advanced directly to the general election and were not on the primary ballot.