RIVERVIEW PARK | The new pedestrian bridge at Riverview Park will be installed Friday. [3]
.com
REPORTER NEWSLINE: 425.255.3484
FOUNDED 1995
RENTON
‘Spirit of Renton’ | The first 737 MAX 8 rolled off the production line in Renton this week. [Page 14]
FRIDAY, DEC. 11, 2015
Renton man arrested for Covington murder BY DENNIS BOX
dbox@courierherald.com
He’s here!
King County Sheriff ’s detectives arrested Jordan Rashaan Coleman Saturday afternoon for the Nov. 18 murder of 26-year-old Dorian M. Haddix in Covington. The 18-year-old Coleman, who is from Renton, was arrested on the charge of firstdegree murder. He appeared in King County Superior Court Monday and is being held on $1 million bail. He was scheduled to make a second appearance Wednesday for a charging hearing, according to King County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Dan Donohoe. Coleman is alleged to have shot Haddix sometime prior to 3:19 a.m. when he was found lying on the road at Southeast Timberlane Boulevard and 185th Court Southeast. A woman called 911 to report a man lying in the road bleeding. Deputies responded [ more MURDER page 4 ]
Xander and Maddie Andrews take a turn on Santa’s lap during Saturday’s tree-lighting event at the Piazza. The lighting was the second holiday event of the weekend, as dozens of families, like the one to the right, made their way to Coulon Park on Friday for the annual lighting of the Ivar’s Clam Lights. For more photos from both events, see page 8. BRIAN BECKLEY, Renton Reporter
Council ready to send Fire Authority plan to voters in April If approved the Renton Regional Fire Authority would control its own revenue stream, build new station in Kennydale After nearly two years of discussion, the Renton City Council this week is expected to pass a measure placing on the April ballot the choice of whether to switch fire service from a city-based model to a Regional Fire Authority. The council this month approved the “Renton Regional Fire Authority” plan as presented during a committee of the whole meeting. Now it will be up to the voters. The idea behind the transition to a Regional Fire Authority, which would take the department off of city books and give
the fire services the ability to create their own revenue stream, began following the council’s annual retreat in February 2014. Facing rising costs and a cap on revenues that does not meet those costs, the city is hoping an authority will help free up money in the budget, though it would mean a loosening of city control over the department and operations. A regional fire authority is a specialpurpose tax district created by voters that combines at least two existing fire districts into a single entity. In Renton’s case, the authority would be a combination of Renton Fire Department and King County Fire District No. 25, which presently contracts
Your Residential Specialists
the RFA. The new RFA would be governed by a six-member board consisting of three elected officials from each jurisdiction. The biggest change, if it’s approved by voters, would be the funding mechanism for the RFA. Currently, resident pay for fire service as part of their property taxes, estimated at about $1.61 per $1,000 assessed value. Under the RFA model, the authority would levy a property tax of up to $1 per assessed value and assess a “Fire Benefit Charge” that can count for up to 60 percent of the operating budget. Instead of property value, a fire benefit charge bases the cost on the size of the structure, with credits given for alarm systems and sprinklers and other fire -sup[ more RRFA page 16 ]
206-949-1696 info@MarcieMaxwell.com www.MarcieMaxwell.com
1423546
BY BRIAN BECKLEY bbeckley@rentonreporter.com
with Renton for service. According to Fire Chief Mark Peterson, who presented the completed plan to the council on Nov. 23, Fire Districts 20 and 40 were also invited to join but declined. In total, the new district would serve a population of 128,000 spread over 33.5 square miles. It wold have a total of seven stations and 190 employees. Peterson said demand for services are increasing at a rate of about 3 percent each year and that planning documents show an expected increase in population for the area of about 40,000 by 2035, meaning even more calls for service. Peterson also said the fire department has determined that a new station is needed in the Kennydale area and nine additional employees to staff an aid unit in the south end are needed, both of which would be covered with passage of