We’re new here, and we’re sorry
Our front yard at sunset, 2025
Hi. My name is Rhiannon and I own a property in Rimrock Meadows in Ephrata, Douglas County, Washington. My husband and I bought the property in early 2025. But when we look up our address or location online it says we’re in the Palisades. So, there’s that.
We had no idea there was no fire district when we purchased our property, and no one from Rimrock told us. We also had no idea that the HOA was suing a former employee and current member, changing its bylaws to become more draconian, or that it was quietly trying to push through the creation of a new fire district without including either our neighboring community, the Palisades, or the Rimrock community. At least I can say that we were not notified of the public Boundary Review Board (BRB) meeting, the BRB hearing, or the Rimrock-Palisades community meeting — and a lot of our community members said the same.
Needless to say, my husband, Dan, and I were as pissed as the Palisades folks seemed to be at the Jan. 28, 2026, community meeting where they let it be known that they didn’t want to work with Rimrock Meadows on a fire district, they did not want to work with our General Manager, and they did not appreciate the lack of communication while their properties were listed on an application that could easily have led to them being essentially taxed without representation. And, frankly, I don’t blame them for being mad as hell about that.
It’s been about a month since that meeting and I’ve spent hundreds of hours requesting and combing through public records related to the fire district creation efforts. I can now attest that, in public documents and meeting minutes, there was zero discussion by the Rimrock Meadows Association of Palisades inclusion or outreach until both the Palisades School District and the Wenatchee Valley Fire District called jurisdiction which forced the BRB to hold a hearing regarding the attempt to create a Rimrock Fire District.
I’ve now listened to the Dec. 10, 2025, BRB hearing (and you can too), and all I can say is that I’m embarrassed.
I’m embarrassed for the Rimrock staff that this project got dumped on. I’m embarrassed for the community. I’m embarrassed as a neighbor of the Palisades who clearly sees that they’re right — the failed attempt to create a fire district does seem like a “clear money grab” and that they were “totally blindsided.” I’m embarrassed that the Rimrock Meadows Association Board has not only completely failed but shown no urgency to create a fire district and, to this day, seems to misunderstand the laws surrounding the creation of a fire district in Washington.
Before we even spent one night on our property, Dan and I knew about Molly Linville’s quest to bring fire protection coverage to the Palisades, going as far as to buy a brush truck. It amazes me that Rimrock Meadows’ leadership didn’t seem to know anything about the Palisades nearly decade-long efforts.
It’s a shame that the first time I met Molly we were both hollerin’ at the Rimrock Meadows general manager about failing to include the community in the creation of a fire district that will affect us all. It’s a shame because I think on another day, in another place, under different circumstances we might find a lot of common ground and maybe, just maybe, realize that we can work together and help both of our communities.
Let’s start over, can we?
At the community meeting in January, I talked about my experiences volunteering for a couple fire departments in Alabama, where I was raised, and how wonderful it was for the overall community.
In the meeting, some of the Palisades folks indicated they might be willing to work with us, we who live in or otherwise own property in Rimrock Meadows, if we started over and if we didn’t include the general manager.
That night, I told an RMA Board member and Molly and David Linville, “I volunteer as tribute.”
I meant it. I mean it. And I’ve been trying to figure out WTF happened on the Rimrock side of things ever since because I feel like we need to know what happened so we can move forward.
The RMA Board of Directors is about to change pretty drastically, and the community seems to think that’s for the good. There’s an annual meeting on March 21, 2026, where the new Board will be seated. They already know that I’ve volunteered to work on the fire district. We’ve also had a couple more folks volunteer, too. If you want to volunteer, be in touch.
To the Palisades: We’re serious about starting over and working with you. We’re sorry. We will do better next time.
And I’ll be in touch soon.
P.S. In the hearing audio, I heard one of your community members say that they don’t want to be the secretary for this project. Don’t worry — I’ll volunteer for that role, too; that’s the least I can do to try and put things right between our communities.
