By Adam Swift
The Winthrop Fire House Building Committee held another public forum at Town Hall on Monday night, fielding questions about the location of the proposed new fire station and whether the current stations in the town could be renovated.
A debt exclusion vote will be on the Nov. 7 town election ballot asking residents to approve funding for a new fire station at the location of the Wadsworth Building and Kirby Funeral Home. The total cost of the project is expected to fall between $36-$40 million.
That total includes the acquisition of land and the relocation of existing businesses on the properties, according to Town Council President Jim Letterie.
On Monday night, Fire Chief Scott Wiley was questioned about response times to Point Shirley if the Shirley Avenue fire station is closed.
Both the current fire stations on Shirley Avenue and Pauline Street were built well over a century ago and designed for horse-drawn fire apparatus.
Wiley said the fire department has to abide by National Fire Protection Association standards, which state that a professional fire department must be able to respond to a call in less than five minutes and 20 seconds from an alarm 90 percent of the time.
The fire chief said that the department can get anywhere in the town in under the required time. Wiley also noted that there are multiple times during the day when there are multiple calls in town, and Engine 2 from Pauline Street has to respond to Point Shirley calls.
“The Shirley Street station, as far as increasing the footprint … there is really nowhere to increase that footprint,” said Wiley, noting there was a new development on one side.
If that station was expanded, it would require the taking of multiple properties.
Letterie said that the town did previously look at using the current Pauline Street site as the location of a one central station, but that would include the taking of seven to nine properties, four of which are single-family homes.
Wiley said it would be more efficient for the department to operate out of a single station than multiple stations, adding that any projects at the current stations would require numerous safety and code upgrades.
Wiley and Letterie also discussed the possibility of the fire department operating its own ambulance service out of the new fire station at some point in the future. Designs for the new stations include a double parking bay for ambulances.
Currently, Action Ambulance provides both BLS ambulance service (with EMTs) and ALS service (with paramedics) to the town.
Town Manager Tony Marino is looking at a plan where the fire department would provide the EMT-level BLS service while Action Ambulance would provide the advanced life support service.
There would be initial start-up costs for the plan, but it would bring revenue into the town, said Letterie.
The committee was also asked why the town did not consider the old middle school site for the new fire station location. Wiley noted that going back for several town councils and town managers, the site has always been earmarked for economic development opportunities.
Scott Mahoney-Wright said he has heard questions from residents about the layers of cost for the project, including what the short- and long-term costs will be of relocating the businesses in the Wadsworth Building.
Letterie said there will be more information on the project website at www.winthropfirestation.com providing more detailed financial numbers.
“Not exact numbers, but when you look at relocation costs, we are not paying rent for six months, but we would be relocating,” said Letterie. “Some businesses just literally have an office and a chair that it might cost five grand to move them or whatever, some of them might cost fifty grand to move them. But some of these costs will be absorbed in the acquisition costs.”
Mahoney-Wright also noted that while there have been numerous questions and concerns raised on social media, those people have not addressed them to the people who can provide answers.
“The questions I hear from people, I feel like they are talking amongst themselves and not you,” he said. “I ask them if they have called Jim Letterie and they say no, and they are obviously not here (at the public forum. As a resident, I am frustrated because I keep seeing all these conversations that make no sense at all.”
Over the weekend, former Fire House Study Committee member Frank Constantino sent an email to the committee members outlining some of the reasons why he resigned from the committee.
Constantino stated that he believes there is another feasible site in the town, not including the middle school site, which should be assessed as a possible choice. He also said the destruction of a historic quality building in the Wadsworth building, as well as the cost for the purchase of the Wadsworth and Kirby buildings were issues for him.
Constantino also raised issues with what he characterized as the rudimentary architectural design plans, as well as the increased taxes from the project that could be a financial burden to residents.