FHBC Focuses on Public Relations

By Adam Swift

The latest meeting of the Fire House Building Committee (FHBC) on Monday night focused on public relations efforts, as well as the unveiling of a new website with information and frequently asked questions about the proposed project.

A ballot question at the Nov. 7 municipal election will ask voters to okay a debt exclusion to pay for a new fire station at the site of the Wadsworth Building and Kirby Funeral Home on Winthrop Street. The existing properties would be taken by eminent domain by the town for the new fire station, which would replace the two current stations which are more than a century old on Winthrop Street and Pauline Street.

FHBC members have used a $35 to $40 million estimate when discussing the cost of a new fire station, although have cautioned that more accurate figures would come with more detailed design plans.

The FHBC held its initial public relations subcommittee meeting prior to Monday night’s regular meeting.

In addition to finalizing a draft of FAQs about the project, Town Council President James Letterie said the committee is days away from going live with a new website, www.winthropfirestation.com, which will feature an abundance of information about the fire station proposal.

“That will have all the frequently asked questions and answers, and it will also have a link to the videos where we did a tour of the Pauline Street station and the Shirley Avenue station,” said Letterie. “We also have pictures we did during two firehouse visits, one to Lexington and one to Woburn.”

The website will also include clips from FHBC meetings, and a link where residents can ask questions or make comments about the project. Letterie said the town will be sending postcards to all residents to inform them of the website.

“We are hoping to have all the information possible,” said Letterie.

Additionally, two open houses have been scheduled at the two current fire stations so residents can tour them and see their condition firsthand. Those open houses are on Saturday, Sept. 9 from 9 a.m. to noon and Saturday, Oct. 21 from 9 a.m. to noon.

The next public forum on the fire station project is scheduled for Sept. 25.

At that forum, Letterie said there will be more information about a potential future plan to connect the new firehouse with the police station. While he said there will be more information at the Sept. 25 meeting, the initial future plans call for a major renovation and addition to the existing police station.

Letterie said the police station project would also require a debt exclusion vote, but that no timeline has been established yet for when that might take place.

During the public comment portion of Monday’s meeting, Winthrop resident Dianne Marchese asked if there would be acceptable response time from a new station on Winthrop Street to Point Shirley.

Letterie and several other FHBC members noted that the fire department can respond to an emergency from any point in town in under five minutes.

Kathleen Cappuccio recommended that the FAQs include more information about other businesses that will be displaced by the eminent domain process in addition to the Meat Market. She also recommended that the FHBC include information on the cost of rebuilding the new fire stations as compared to building a new firehouse.

“With the middle school/high school, that was a big selling point that the cost of redoing the old middle school and high school would far outweigh having a new middle/high school built,” said Cappuccio.