OTHELLO — City Hall was packed Monday night as residents heard how Othello plans to handle two long-running headaches at once: fire protection and the closed community pool.
On a 6-0 vote, the City Council approved a pre-annexation agreement with Adams County Fire District 5. The deal puts annexation on the ballot for April 2027. If voters say yes, the change would take effect July 30. If they say no, the agreement calls for another try in August 2027.
For more than 20 years, ACFD 5 has covered Othello under contract. The prior council tried to walk away from that arrangement and build a city fire department instead. After the 2025 election, the new mayor and council dropped that idea and went back to the negotiating table with the district.
City Administrator Aaron Garza argued annexation is the more durable path. "It increases our economies of scale, combines our resources and makes fire services stronger. It also provides long-term sustainability," he said.
The money side is messier. District voters already approved a levy lid lift that pushed the rate from about 65 cents to 90 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. Annexation would put Othello residents on that higher rate, paid directly to the district rather than through the city's contract. Under the current deal, Othello is looking at roughly $1.2 million for fire services this cycle — up from about $793,000 in 2025.
If annexation passes, the district would take over the city's Broadway Avenue fire station and city-owned fire equipment — a point Council member Marc Spohr flagged as needing more negotiation for a decision that could last decades. The council voted to move ahead anyway.
That leaves a pile of city tax capacity that used to go toward the fire contract. Council members haven't settled whether to give some of it back, keep it for other city needs, or steer it toward the pool. Mayor Ken Johnson said they need a direction soon so the annexation campaign can explain what residents would get besides a change in who runs the fire trucks.
The pool has been shut since spring 2024 after plumbing problems — including pipes installed wrong when the facility was built more than a decade ago — made safe operation impossible. Water loss hit more than 34 million gallons in 2023. Repair estimates now sit around $3.75 million to $4 million, and an earlier $3.5 million bond fell short of the 60% yes vote required. Garza said costs will keep climbing.
Council talked through how to sequence the votes: annexation and pool funding on the same ballot, or annexation first so the city knows what fire will cost before asking for a pool bond. Council member Chris Dorow warned against building a pool the city can't afford to run if annexation fails. Finance Director Spencer Williams put the pool's operating hole at about $150,000 a year at a minimum.
Garza said annexation is aimed at the April 2027 ballot; a pool measure couldn't land earlier than February 2027. Formal ballot language still has to come back in a later public meeting.
Sources
- Packed chambers as Othello discusses fire annexation and pool repairs — Columbia Basin News, Aug. 11, 2026 — https://columbiabasinnews.com/2026/08/11/fire-annexation-pool-repairs/
- Othello City Council approves pre-annexation fire contract — Columbia Basin Herald, Aug. 12, 2026 — https://columbiabasinherald.com/news/2026/aug/12/othello-city-council-approves-pre-annexation-fire-contract/
- Othello City Council considering second pool bond proposal — Columbia Basin Herald, Aug. 12, 2026 — https://columbiabasinherald.com/news/2026/aug/12/othello-city-council-considering-second-pool-bond-proposal/
- Othello moves toward possible annexation into Adams County Fire District Five — Apple Valley News Now, Aug. 13, 2026 — https://www.applevalleynewsnow.com/news/othello-moves-toward-possible-annexation-into-adams-county-fire-district-five/article_1dc6facc-27b4-480d-be81-9c7ddbe03a2b.html
