25-097.00SpokaneValleyFireDepartmentFireServices After Recording Return To:
City of Spokane Valley
10210 E Sprague Avenue
Spokane Valley, WA 99206
INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT FOR FIRE SERVICES
IN THE CITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY
THIS AGREEMENT, made and entered into by and between Spokane Valley Fire
Department, a special purpose district organized and operating under the laws of the
State of Washington, having offices for the transaction of business at 2120 N Wilbur Rd.,
Spokane Valley, Washington 99206, hereinafter referred to as the "Department" and the
City of Spokane Valley, a municipal corporation of the State of Washington, having
offices for the transaction of business at 10210 E Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley,
Washington 99206, hereinafter referred to as "City," jointly hereinafter referred to as the
"Parties." The Department and the City agree as follows.
SECTION NO. 1: RECITALS AND FINDINGS
A. Cities and special purpose districts may contract with each other to perform certain
functions which each may legally perform under chapter 39.34 RCW (Interlocal
Cooperation Act). •
B. The City has been annexed into the special purpose district served by the
Department and the Department provides emergency fire protection, emergency
medical, and nonemergency medical services in the City.
C. The City has adopted land use regulations, a series of safety codes for building
construction, maintenance, and the use of structures and their occupancies,
including the International Building Code (IBC) and the International Fire Code
(I FC).
D. The City has code enforcement authority pursuant to RCW 19.27.050 and fire
investigation authority under RCW 43.44.050.
E. The Department has a Fire Prevention Division that is staffed by trained and
certified personnel that regularly conduct fire code safety inspections and
conduct fire investigations to determine the origin and cause of fires within the
City pursuant to RCW 52.12.031(7) and RCW 43.44.050.
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F. Both the City and the Department have a need for the Services of the other and
the City and the Department have the ability to provide these Services.
G. Any applicable fees for services identified within this Agreement have been
separately and independently calculated by each Party and exist and are
collected regardless of this Agreement. Nothing in this Agreement shall be
construed as approval, agreement, or support for the amount or assessment of
such fees by the other Party. Each Party hereby certifies that it has independent
statutory authority for any fees it has identified, developed, imposed, and collects
as costs for any services that it provides, and nothing in this Agreement shall be
construed as a grant of authorization by one Party for the other Party to develop,
impose, and collect such fees outside of any statutory authority.
H. The duty of the Department to provide emergency services within the special
purpose district or under the provisions of this Agreement is a duty owed to the
public generally, and by entering into this Agreement, the Department does not
incur a special duty to the City, the property owners, residents or occupants of
the City.
I. This Agreement is entered into for the benefit of the Parties to this Agreement
only and shall confer no benefits, direct or implied, on any third persons.
J.
This Agreement is intended to modify and replace the prior lnterlocal Agreement
for Fire Services in the City of Spokane Valley entered into by the Parties on the
29th of February 2012.
SECTION NO. 2: DEFINITIONS
A. Agreement: "Agreement" means this Interlocal Agreement between the City and
the Department regarding fire code compliance-related services.
B. City: "City" means the City of Spokane Valley.
C. Compensation: "Compensation" means the amount of money the Department will
be paid through fees charged to third parties for providing Services at the rates
identified in the Department's currently adopted fee schedule, which may be
updated from time to time by the Department and provided to the City.
D. Department: "Department" means Spokane Valley Fire Department.
E. Services: "Services" means all of those responsibilities set forth in Section 5,
Parties Responsibility.
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F. Uncontrollable Circumstances: "Uncontrollable Circumstances" means the
following events: riots, wars, civil disturbances, insurrections, acts of terrorism,
external fires and floods, volcanic eruptions, lightning or earthquakes at or near
where the Services are performed and/or that directly affect providing of such
Services.
SECTION NO. 3: PURPOSE
The purpose of this Agreement is to reduce to writing the Parties' understanding as to the
terms and conditions under which the City and the Department will provide Services to
each other. It is the intent of the Parties that Services to be provided will be consistent
with the City's Council/Manager form of government provided for in chapter 35A.13 RCW.
SECTION NO. 4: DURATIONNUITHDRAWAL
A. This Agreement shall commence on the date the last signature is affixed hereto
and run until terminated by either party as provided below.
B. This agreement may be modified and amended pursuant to Section 13 below.
C. Any Party may withdraw at any time from this Agreement for any reason
whatsoever upon a minimum of 180 days written notice as provided for in Section
8 to the other Party.
SECTION NO. 5: PARTIES RESPONSIBILITIES:
A. The Department will administer the International Fire Code, as currently adopted
or subsequently amended, for the City by maintaining a Fire Prevention Division,
performing plan reviews, plat reviews for commercial and residential
development, and by conducting inspections and investigations when and as
required by the International Fire Code, as well as when requested by the City.
B. The Department agrees to designate a fire code official to implement, administer,
and to work with the City to enforce the provisions of this code as provided for in
the International Fire Code Section 104.
C. Inspections of existing occupancies shall be conducted as follows:
1. Inspections shall be performed under Section 108 and Section 109 of the
IFC.
2. Inspections in accordance with Section 108 and 109 shall be conducted on
an annual basis except Group H (hazardous) occupancies, which may be
inspected semi-annually. In all cases the inspections are to be conducted
in a regularly scheduled manner.
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3. The Department shall serve written notice of a violation of the IFC to the
property and/or business as is appropriate. Re-inspection of failed
inspections will be conducted not more than 30 calendar days after the
initial inspection. The 30-day limit may be exceeded if doing so does not
endanger persons occupying or accessing the occupancy and the fire
inspector sets and comments in writing, a date certain for re-inspection.
4. If compliance is not achieved after the first re-inspection, a second written
notice shall be served unless there is an immediate hazard to public
safety.
5. If after the second re-inspection non-compliance still exists, the
Department shall confer with the Building Official and jointly prepare the
enforcement action. The City shall be responsible for the costs of code
enforcement actions. The Building Official shall issue stop work orders as
deemed appropriate.
6. At the time of the first inspection, Fire Prevention Division Inspectors shall
determine if a valid permit has been issued to occupancies requiring a
permit, pursuant to IFC Section 105. If a valid permit has not been issued,
the Department inspector will take appropriate action to inform the
occupant of the local requirements.
7. Notwithstanding the foregoing, immediate enforcement and/or other
actions may be undertaken by the City in lieu of warnings or re-inspections
if to do so is necessary to comply with applicable law or for other
circumstances determined by the City.
D.
1. The City is responsible for providing fire investigations pursuant to RCW
43.44.050. The Department has the authority to conduct fire
investigations on behalf of the City pursuant to RCW 52.12.031(8).
Accordingly, the Department shall conduct fire investigations into fires
occurring in the City. All such fire investigations shall be performed in
conformance with the IFC and other City, state and federal requirements
within the City. All investigations involving arson or mischievous burning
shall be reported to the appropriate law enforcement agency for
enforcement.
2. Any Department fees and costs for investigations shall solely be the
responsibility of the Department, and the City shall not be responsible for
collecting any such fees. The Department certifies that it has independent
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statutory authority to develop, impose, and collect any fees or costs for
such investigations.
E. A copy of the plans submitted to the City for a building permit or a plat approval
for commercial or residential development shall be submitted by the City to the
Department for review. The Department shall be responsible for determining:
1. Fire hydrant locations.
2. Connections for locations of standpipes and sprinkler systems.
3. Key box locations and approvals.
4. Fire flow availability in all areas where the water provider does not
have sufficient information.
5. Road access requirements to property and buildings for fire fighting
purposes, including designated fire lanes.
The City shall be responsible for implementing the Department's determinations
through the City's permitting process.
F. The City shall submit to the Department, and the Department shall review and
comment on all plans for automatic fire suppression systems, fire alarm and
detection systems, and other fire protection system plans.
G. The City and the Department shall both conduct final inspections of new
buildings other than single family dwellings or private garages.
H. The Department shall review applications and perform field inspections of
public fireworks displays to ensure compliance with applicable State and City
requirements.
I.The City shall assist the Department as necessary in implementing and enforcing
the Department's determinations under Section No. 5, as the City deems
appropriate.
J. The Department shall refrain from performing any of the services specified in
this Section 5 upon a written request by the City.
SECTION NO 6: COST OF SERVICES AND PAYMENTS
The Department shall be paid for the costs for Services provided by the Department under
this Agreement through fees charged to third parties in accordance with the
Department's currently adopted fee schedule.
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The Department shall be responsible for billing and collection of all annual inspection,
operational permit, fire investigation and other related fees for the Services provided to
commercial properties not owned by the City under this Agreement. Commercial
properties owned by the City shall not be subject to fees for inspections, permits, or
investigations. The Department is responsible for billing and collecting any Department
fees that are not directly related to a building permit application or land use permit
application submitted to the City by a third party. Nothing herein shall be construed as
authorization from the City to identify, develop, impose, and collect such fees beyond any
independent statutory authority granted to the Department.
The City is responsible for billing and collecting the City's application and review fees. The
City is also responsible for billing and collecting, on behalf of the Department, those
application fees and review fees of the Department that are related to building permit
applications and land use permit applications submitted by third parties to the City. The
City shall use the Department's currently adopted fee schedule for billing and collecting
those building and land-use permit-related fees that the City charges to and collects from
third parties on behalf of the Department. Fees collected by the City on behalf of the
Department shall be forwarded by the City on a quarterly basis to the Department. To the
extent the City bills third parties for the Department's fees, the City shall be entitled to
charge, collect and retain a $35.00 processing fee ("Processing Fee") in addition to the
fees listed in the currently adopted fee schedule. The Processing Fee is collected on the
City's behalf and shall therefore not be included in the collected fees that are forwarded to
the Department. Either Party may dispute any claimed moneys owed. In the event the
Parties cannot mutually resolve any dispute over money owed within 30 calendar days
from the time a written claim is made, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties, the matter
shall be resolved pursuant to the Dispute Resolution provisions set forth in Section No. 16.
The selection of arbitrators as provided for in Section No.16 shall commence within 30
calendar days of the running of the 30-calendar daytime frame.
The Parties recognize that it is not always possible for either Party to discover errors in
payment. The Parties further recognize that there must be some finality to addressing
such errors. Accordingly, the Parties agree that both Parties are foreclosed from
challenging any errors in payment unless the challenge is made in writing to the other
party within 30 calendar days of the last invoice of the calendar year. Errors raised within
this time frame that are not mutually resolved shall be subject to the Dispute Resolution
provisions set forth in Section No. 16.
SECTION NO. 7: RELATED RESPONSIBILITIES IN CONJUNCTION WITH PROVIDING
SERVICES
A Department representative shall make reasonable efforts to attend staff or Council
meetings as requested by the City Manager.
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A Department representative shall make reasonable efforts to meet upon request by the
City Manager or his/her designee to discuss any Service provided under the terms of this
Agreement.
SECTION NO. S: NOTICE
All notices or other communications given hereunder shall be deemed given on: (1) the
day such notices or other communications are received when sent by personal delivery; or
(2) the third day following the day on which the same have been mailed by first class
delivery, postage prepaid addressed to the Department or the City at the address set forth
below for such Party, or at such other address as either Party shall from time to time
designate by notice in writing to the other Party:
DEPARTMENT: Spokane Valley Fire Department
Fire Chief or his/her authorized representative
2120 N. Wilbur Rd.
Spokane Valley, WA 99206
CITY: City of Spokane Valley
City Manager or his/her authorized representative
10210 E Sprague Ave.
Spokane Valley, Washington 99206
SECTION NO. 9: ASSIGNMENT
No Party may assign in whole or part its interest in this Agreement without the written
approval of the other Party.
SECTION NO. 10: DEPARTMENT/CITY EMPLOYEES
The Department shall appoint, hire, assign, retain and discipline all employees performing
Department Services under this Agreement according to applicable collective bargaining
agreements and applicable state and federal laws. The City shall appoint, hire, assign,
retain and discipline all employees performing City Services under this Agreement
according to applicable collective bargaining agreements and applicable state and federal
laws.
SECTION NO. 11: LIABILITY
A. The Department shall indemnify and hold harmless the City and its officers, agents,
and employees, from any and all claims, actions, suits, liability, loss, costs,
expenses, and damages of any nature whatsoever, by any reason of or arising out
of any negligent act or omission of the Department, its officers, agents and
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employees, relating to or arising out of performing Services pursuant to this
Agreement. In the event that any suit based upon such claim, action, loss, or
damages is brought against the City, the Department shall defend the same at its
sole cost and expense; provided that the City reserves the right to participate in
said suit if any principle of governmental or public law is involved; and if final
judgment in said suit be rendered against the City, and its officers, agents, and
employees, or jointly against the City and the Department and their respective
officers, agents, and employees, the Department shall satisfy the same.
B. The City shall indemnify and hold harmless the Department and its officers, agents,
and employees, from any and all claims, actions, suits, liability, loss, costs,
expenses, and damages of any nature whatsoever, by any reason of or arising out
of any negligent act or omission of the City, its officers, agents and employees,
relating to or arising out of performing Services pursuant to this Agreement. In the
event that any suit based upon such claim, action, loss, or damages is brought
against the Department, the City shall defend the same at its sole cost and
expense; provided that the Department reserves the right to participate in said suit if
any principle of governmental or public law is involved; and if final judgment in said
suit be rendered against the Department, and its officers, agents, and employees,
or jointly against the Department and the City and their respective officers, agents,
and employees,the City shall satisfy the same.
C. If the comparative negligence of the Parties and their officers and employees is a
cause of such damage or injury, the liability, loss, cost, or expense shall be
shared between the Parties in proportion to their relative degree of negligence
and the right of indemnity shall apply to such proportion.
D. Where an officer or employee of a Party is acting under the direction and control
of the other Party, the Party directing and controlling the officer or employee in
the activity and/or omission giving rise to liability shall accept all liability for the
other Party's officer or employee's negligence.
E. Each Party's duty to indemnify shall survive the termination or expiration of the
Agreement.
F. The foregoing indemnity is specifically intended to constitute a waiver of each
Party's immunity under Washington's Industrial Insurance Act, chapter 51 RCW,
respecting the other party only, and only to the extent necessary to provide the
indemnified Party with a full and complete indemnity of claims made by the
indemnitor's employees. The Parties acknowledge that these provisions were
specifically negotiated and agreed upon by them.
G. The Department and the City agree to either self insure or purchase policies of
insurance covering the matters contained in this Agreement with coverages of not
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less than $3,000,000 per occurrence with $3,000,000 aggregate limits including
professional liability and auto liability coverages.
SECTION NO. 12: RELATIONSHIP OF THE PARTIES
The Parties intend that an independent contractor relationship will be created by this
' Agreement. The Department shall be an independent contractor and not the agent or
employee of the City. The City is interested only in the results to be achieved by the
Department's work under this Agreement, and therefore the right to control the particular
manner, method and means in which the services are performed is solely within the
discretion of the Department. Any and all employees who provide Services to the City
under this Agreement shall be deemed employees solely of the Department. The
Department shall be solely responsible for the conduct and actions of all employees under
this Agreement and any liability that may attach thereto. Likewise, no agent, employee,
servant or representative of the City shall be deemed to be an employee, agent, servant or
representative of the Department for any purpose.
It is understood that the Department shall from time-to-time identify a life safety violation
of code or a parking violation impairing access to fire hydrants or routes of ingress or
egress to emergency scenes or restricted fire zones, need to immediately issue
citations for these violations. It is further understood that the Fire Department, under
the authority of the Spokane County Sheriff's Office may, if necessary, take such
actions under the sole authority of the Spokane County Sheriff's Office and/or the
Department and pursuant to a separate agreement with the Spokane County Sheriff's
Office. Any costs or liability that may result from these actions shall be the responsibility
of either the Fire Department or Sheriffs Office respectively.
SECTION NO. 13: MODIFICATION
This Agreement may be modified in writing by mutual written agreement of the Parties.
Proposals for modification shall be submitted to the other party at least 60 days before the
end of the calendar year.
SECTION NO. 14: PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
The ownership of all property and equipment utilized in conjunction with providing the
Services shall remain with the original owner, unless otherwise specifically and mutually
agreed to by the Parties to this Agreement. For the purpose of this section, the
terminology "owner" means that Party which paid the full purchase price for the property
or equipment.
SECTION NO. 15: ALL WRITINGS CONTAINED HEREIN/BINDING EFFECT
This Agreement contains terms and conditions agreed upon by the Parties. The Parties
agree that there are no other understandings, oral or otherwise, regarding the subject
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matter of this Agreement. No changes or additions to this Agreement shall be valid or
binding upon the Parties unless such change or addition is in writing, executed by the
Parties.
This Agreement shall be binding upon the Parties hereto, their successors and assigns.
SECTION NO. 16: DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Any dispute between the Parties which cannot be resolved between the Parties shall be
subject to arbitration. Except as provided for to the contrary herein, such dispute shall first
be reduced to writing and considered by the Department and the City Manager. If the
Department and the City Manager cannot resolve the dispute it will be submitted to
arbitration. The provisions of chapter 7.04A RCW shall be applicable to any arbitration
proceedings.
The Department and the City shall have the right to designate one person each to act as
an arbitrator. The two selected arbitrators shall then jointly select a third arbitrator. The
decision of the arbitration panel shall be binding on the Parties and shall be subject to
judicial review as provided for in chapter 7.04A RCW.
The costs of the arbitration panel shall be equally split between the Parties. Each Party
shall be responsible for its own costs in preparing and presenting its case.
SECTION NO. 17: VENUE STIPULATION
This Agreement has been and shall be construed as having been made and delivered
within the State of Washington and it is mutually understood and agreed by each party
that this Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Washington both as to
interpretation and performance. Any action at law, suit in equity or judicial proceeding for
the enforcement of this Agreement, or any provision hereto, shall be instituted only in
courts of competent jurisdiction within Spokane County, Washington.
SECTION NO. 18: SEVERABILITY
The Parties agree that if any parts, terms or provisions of this Agreement are held by the
courts to be illegal, the validity of the remaining portions or provisions shall not be affected,
and the rights and obligations of the Parties shall not be affected in regard to the
remainder of the Agreement. if it should appear that any part, term or provision of this
Agreement is in conflict with any statutory provision of the State of Washington, then the
part, term or provision thereof that may be in conflict shall be deemed inoperative and null
and void insofar as it may be in conflict therewith and this Agreement shall be deemed to
modify to conform to such statutory provision.
SECTION NO. 19: RECORDS
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All public records prepared, owned, used or retained by the Department in conjunction
with providing Services under the terms of this Agreement shall be deemed City property
and shall be made available to the City upon request by the City Manager subject to the
attorney-client and attorney work product privileges set forth in statute, court rule or case
law. The Department will timely notify the City of any public disclosure request under
chapter 42.56 RCW for copies or viewing of such records as well as the Department's
response thereto.
SECTION NO. 20: HEADINGS
The section headings appearing in this Agreement have been inserted solely for the
purpose of convenience and ready reference. In no way do they purport to, and shall
not be deemed to define, limit or extend the scope or intent of the sections to which they
pertain.
SECTION NO. 21: UNCONTROLLABLE CIRCUMSTANCES/IMPOSSIBILITY
A delay or interruption in or failure of performance of all or any part of this Agreement
resulting from Uncontrollable Circumstances shall be deemed not a default under this
Agreement.
A delay or interruption in or failure of performance of all or any part of this Agreement
resulting from any change in or new law, order, rule or regulation of any nature which
renders providing of Services in accordance with the terms of this Agreement legally
impossible, and any other circumstances beyond the control of the Department which
render legally impossible the performance by the Department of its obligations under
this Agreement, shall be deemed not a default under this Agreement.
SECTION NO. 22: FILING
This Agreement shall be filed by the Department with such offices or agencies as
required by chapter 39.34 RCW.
SECTION NO. 23: EXECUTION AND APPROVAL
The Parties warrant that the officers executing below have been duly authorized to act
for and on behalf of the Party for purposes of confirming this Agreement. i
SECTION NO. 24: INITIATIVES
The Parties recognize that revenue reducing initiative(s) passed by the voters of
Washington may substantially reduce local operating revenue for the City, Department or
both Parties. The Parties agree that it is necessary to have flexibility to reduce the
contracted amount(s) in this Agreement in response to budget constraints resulting from
the passage of revenue reducing initiative(s). If such an event occurs, the Parties agree to
negotiate in good faith to achieve a mutually agreeable resolution in a timely fashion.
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SECTION NO. 25: COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS
The Parties shall observe all federal, state and local laws, ordinances and regulations, to
the extent that they may be applicable to the terms of this Agreement.
SECTION NO. 26: DISCLAIMER
Except as otherwise provided, this Agreement shall not be construed in any manner that
would limit either Party's authority or power under law.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused this Agreement to be executed on date
and year opposite their respective signatures.
City of Spokane Valley
• Date: 5, - Z9--ZS
Joh ohman, City Manager
Spokane Valley Fire Department
(rank Sot(' r(Ap(rT,NiQ51PC26p l'7T� Apr 17,2025
Date:
Frank Soto, Fire Chief
ati'ick Earth Apr 15,20z5
aa Y•r•.xP=°3°33 C9•r nun Date:
Patrick Burch, Fire Commissioner
KesWI,Aatn't Date: Apr 15,2025
Mike Kester, Fire Commissioner
erar,A,NJ (APIIP 21175 '747PDT1 Date: Apr 17, 2025
Brian Asmus, Fire Commissioner
17 C Frr<ier(Apr 17 Pfr75 tnf t r11t) Date: _ Apr 17,2025
Rick Freier, Fire Commissioner
jam,S Apr 17,2025
GV•.A3P s�rr lf,,0;31u'.33•.1 Date:
John Guarisco, Fire Commissioner
APPROVED AS TO FORM ONLY:
Kell onkright ity Attorney
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