Last night’s “Town Hall” meeting in Elk at the Country Church of the Open Bibler, was well attended and allowed a lot of informal discussion to take place. We were able to discuss obstacles being encountered by victims during the recovery from the wildfire. Being a fire victim myself, I left the meeting with some weight and frustration lifted off of my shoulders. There was hope for the future replacing it.

The 2 speakers addressed subjects in their own professional fields and then fielded many questions from the locals in attendance.

Leonard Christian

House of Representatives – 4th Legislative District

Christian apologised that in Olympia they had been told that the asbestos testing was being paid for by the state and it has not. Many people responded saying what it had cost them.

He understands the importance of stopping the new building codes requiring no propane allowances in our reconstruction. Heat pumps do not work well in the colder regions (below 34 degrees), or rural regions that lose power frequently.

This mandate needs to be fought, and the best way to prevent it from being passed into law in March 2024 is to flood Gov Jay Inslee with emails and phone calls stating your point of view. Contact him frequently, and ask all of your friends and relatives to do the same. His contact information is below.

We do not want Propane to be Outlawed!

• Write
  Governor Jay Inslee
  Office of the Governor
  PO Box 40002
  Olympia, WA 98504-0002

• e-Message
  Send Gov. Inslee an e-message
• Call
  360-902-4111
  TTY/TDD users should contact the Washington Relay Service at 711 or 1-800-833-6388.

• Fax
  360-753-4110

Tom Konis

the Spokane County Assessor

Konis explained the process that was used to speed up the zero valuation determination on single-family dwellings that were destroyed and damaged. Using a Google imagery-fly-over system they identified destroyed structures. Their office filled out the forms requesting adjustments for the taxpayers. Most people have already gotten a notice showing this reduced valuation and some have already received a refund of overpaid taxes.

A dairy farmer asked why his barn was not included as a loss, along with all of the hay in it. Evidently, only single-family homes are eligible for this tax break. A change in this law is needed. Farmland, timberland and livestock feed storage are real considerations here.

People with acreage already zoned in forest reserve taxes asked if they would now be penalized for “back taxes” since the timber was destroyed before the end of the time period signed up for. No. More questions were brought up about reforestation assistance.

The question was asked about why land parcels that are burnt are being valued the same as property not burnt. Many questions and many answers were discussed. Konis explained that sales of burnt land would have to occur for them to be able to see if the price of that burnt parcel actually decreases from wildfire destruction. Another question was asked about being unable to sell a burnt property and no solution was presented.