Frequently Asked Questions

As stewards of our community’s resources, City staff have a responsibility to meet today’s needs while also planning wisely for the future. It’s worth asking: does it make sense to keep spending taxpayer dollars on short-term fixes—band aids that need to be redone every few years—or should we invest in infrastructure that will serve Snohomish for decades to come?

Currently, City staff and equipment are spread across more than half a dozen locations, including facilities that are over 100 years old. This fragmentation creates inefficiencies, increases maintenance costs, and limits our ability to deliver services effectively. The need to consolidate operations and build a new city hall was identified more than 20 years ago, but progress has been slow and inconsistent.

Today, the cost of maintaining and updating our aging facilities is approaching the cost of building new—without providing the added capacity or modern functionality we need to serve a growing community. A new city campus would not only address current challenges but also position us to meet future demands with greater efficiency, sustainability, and resilience.

Snohomish Fire District 4 purchased parcels on Pine Avenue, known as the Steuber Property, for $6.35M. The City purchased 57% of the property from the Fire District with $3.6M paid in full out of the City’s reserves. The City has completed all design work primarily through grant funding received from the Department of Commerce, with the infrastructure construction being for out of applicable enterprise funds and other City revenue sources.

Over the last few months, staff worked to consolidate the primary building down to two stories while still preserving space for all needs. This work has resulted in a cost savings of at least $12M from estimates presented in January 2025. Revised cost estimates for the City’s building construction are $45-55M, depending on which phasing option the City moves forward with. The construction will be paid through grants, bonds, loans, and City funds. The goal is to get the Campus to a "shovel ready" project, while continuing to seek additional funding. Staff will work with Council to reassess project readiness if/when the economy stabilizes with more predictability in long-range outlooks.

The cost estimates were developed through two professional studies commissioned by the City Council. First, a feasibility study was completed by PACE Engineers in 2022–2023 to evaluate relocating the Public Works yard to the City-owned “pit” site off Three Lakes Road. Their preliminary estimate to relocate Public Works to the “pit” was $22.5M. Then at Council direction in 2023, the City hired MENG Analysis to conduct a comprehensive Facilities Condition Assessment of all City-owned buildings. MENG reviewed the feasibility study done by PACE Engineers and updated the cost estimates using current pricing and data, and the estimate to move Public Works was $26.2M. Their report also identified over $37 million in deficiencies across all facilities that would need to be addressed between 2023-2042. These studies form the basis for the City’s financial planning and are available under “Related Documents” on the Public Safety & City Services Campus webpage.

Yes, the City completed a modest remodel of City Hall in 2014 to address immediate space and safety needs. The project, which cost around $400K, added a small building extension and made targeted upgrades to windows, insulation, HVAC, and interior finishes. However, this was not a full modernization or expansion, and it did not resolve long-term infrastructure challenges or provide additional capacity for future growth. The current Public Safety & City Campus proposal is a strategic investment to meet both today’s service demands and tomorrow’s needs.

Neither the City nor Fire District #4 have plans to ask the community for new taxes to complete any of these capital projects, nor will there be a bill sent to every resident. The Fire District’s capital facilities plan has been in effect for some time and their current levies, as have been passed and renewed since 2011, will fund their projects. 

The current Utilities building at Public Works site—which is a construction trailer installed in 2009— was only approved for temporary use until April 2027. Continuing operations there beyond that date would violate City Code and risk higher flood insurance premiums for residents. The site is located in a 100-year floodplain and a liquefaction zone, making it unsafe for long-term use and emergency response. Additionally, the land has long been planned for future park use and does not meet shoreline regulations. After evaluating other locations and considering the high cost of repairs across multiple City facilities, investing in a new Civic Campus is the most responsible and cost-effective solution to meet both current and future needs.

Flood risk for the Public Works yard was determined through FEMA Floodplain Mapping, the City's Shoreline Management Plan, and the SEPA Review & Hearing Examiner Decision in 2009.

Locating fire services, police services, and city services on one site will enhance communication between agencies, providing improved service to the community. Consolidating city services in the same area will provide more efficient access for the public and creating multi-use meeting rooms and parking areas will be more cost-effective for taxpayers. The City currently has staff and equipment scattered across a half dozen locations, some in facilities that are over a century old. The existing infrastructure no longer supports the service needs of our growing community. The costs to upgrade facilities to current needs approach the costs to build new facilities, without adding additional capacity for future needs. Building a combined campus will protect taxpayers from ongoing facility improvements projected to support the services the community will require in the coming years. In addition, the new facilities will be designed to be much more accessible, energy efficient, and environmentally sustainable than any of the existing facilities.

The site will consist of two projects: the Snohomish County Fire District 4 portion and the City of Snohomish portion. These will house new stations for both Snohomish Fire District 4 and the Snohomish Police Department, Fire District Administration, and City Hall and Public Works facilities. The future City Hall building will include a training room to be used by City staff and first responders, as well as a shared space to hold City Council, Fire Commissioner, and other boards and commission meetings. This facility will also serve as a central location for Snohomish County Sheriff's Office deputies and the Washington State Patrol to utilize for evidence, paperwork, and training.

While the Fire District had considered Snohomish County’s former Public Works site off Avenue D, that location does not achieve an increased level of service for overall operations, so it was removed from further consideration. Snohomish County also had specific goals for how that land would be sold.

The City had not considered the property on Bonneville as it was not for sale when the property acquisition phase was underway several years ago. Once the City and Fire District entered into a purchase and sale agreement on the property on Pine, it was no longer necessary to look at additional parcels of land. Since being alerted to the property, staff have done a cursory review of information available and have determined that it does not meet space and function needs for co-locating City staff or just the Public Works Department. Additionally, the majority of the property is covered by an easement to Bonneville Power Administration that significantly restricts the types of uses and materials permitted within the easement. Staff have reached out to BPA to get additional details, but it does not appear that Public Works equipment and activities would be allowed within that land.   

Construction will occur in several phases:

• The City and Fire District are working together on construction of transportation and utility infrastructure improvements which started in 2025.
• The Fire District started construction in the spring of 2025 and their building is expected to be complete by late-2026.
• Construction of the City’s buildings is tentatively expected to begin in late-2026 or 2027.

The current station off Maple will be maintained as a support services area. The station on Avenue D will be used until the new campus is completed, when it will be rebuilt to incorporate the needed earthquake, apparatus and firefighter health and safety issues. Renovations and/or construction of these projects will not impact the level of emergency services. 

There are no additional traffic signals proposed at this time for Third and Pine. Traffic calming, including pedestrian protective measures and channelization changes  are being proposed.

There is a 30-foot buffer or setback from the river, and the City will not be building or doing any construction within that buffer. A full geotechnical and environmental assessment was completed. No concerns were identified for the planned building footprint. 

A feasibility study of “the pit” was completed while the City was exploring options for this campus. The City would like to move as many of its operations to one location as possible to better serve the community. Architectural programming shows that all staff and most operational needs can be accommodated on the new campus site. The current goal is to complete the campus, and then consolidate operations at the current Public Works Shop site into a smaller footprint so that a large portion of the property can be repurposed into a community space. This may include additional parking, improved river access, a small amphitheater for outdoor performances and movie nights, areas for community markets and/or food trucks, community rentals, etc. The pit off Three Lakes Road would be retained for additional Public Works operational needs. 

No, the seller and the Fire District and City reached a voluntary purchase and sale agreement. However, eminent domain was a possibility if a voluntary agreement was not reached, so the Fire District Board passed a resolution stating that. This allowed for clear negotiations and provided advantages to the seller that would not have been available in a purchase and sale agreement with a private party. 

Snohomish County Fire District No. 4 did a comprehensive study that identified current deficiencies and future needs. Their stations were designed for volunteer use and not full-time firefighters, which our community requires. The current stations delay the Fire District’s ability to respond with large, segregated areas and multiple floors. They require earthquake-proof structures and additional space for firefighters. The Fire District also requires modern decontamination areas to improve the health and safety of firefighters and stations that can shelter emergency apparatus.

During the feasibility period, the City’s geotechnical consultant developed a robust testing plan but their access to the site was restricted, and the testing plan had to be modified. That round of analysis identified the possible presence of arsenic and Tetrachloroethylene. These preliminary findings suggested clean-up costs could be anywhere from $300k to over $1M, and that additional testing that went deeper and included access to more locations on the parcels would be needed to determine the extent of potential contamination.

The property owners independently hired a separate geotechnical consultant who was given access to the full site. Their testing, completed with a different testing method and lab, did not show the same levels of contamination and estimated that clean-up costs were more likely to be less than $200,000. 

The parties followed an agreed upon mediation process, which set a $1M “hold-back” from the purchase price to remain in escrow while a third geotechnical analysis is completed. The Fire District hired a mutually agreed upon consultant who sampled the same locations where possible arsenic and Tetrachloroethylene contamination had been identified, in addition to other locations on the property once all tenants vacated their properties. The final testing did not identify contamination levels that exceed mandatory reporting thresholds or require clean-up. It was recommended that about $150,000 be reserved as a contingency for further testing or potential clean-up identified during the construction phase.

Staff intend to seek state, and possibly national, historic designation for the City Hall building to protect its heritage and architecture. Once the Campus is completed, the current Engineering building and City Hall on Union Avenue will be sold. The site of the current Police Department on Maple Avenue is anticipated to be turned into senior housing. The long-term vision for the current Public Works Shop site is to turn it into a community public space that could feature the Snohomish Farmers Market, food truck court, a small amphitheater for movies or performances in the park, and improved river access for recreation and tourism. 

The current interlocal agreement (ILA) between the City and Fire District 4 was completed in 2004 and needed updates. The two agencies have developed a new ILA that clearly separates ownership of existing facilities while continuing the same collaborative working relationships into the future.