By Adam Swift
The town basketball courts on Walden Street and the old middle school are the two sites the town is focusing on as a potential site for a new fire station.
Last November, voters rejected an approximately $40 million debt exclusion vote that would have funded the building of a new fire station at the Wadsworth Building site on Winthrop Street, replacing the two current stations on Pauline Street and Shirley Avenue, both of which are over a century old.
At last week’s regular town council meeting, Town Manager Tony Marino said the town is finalizing survey questions for residents on their thoughts about the fire station location.
Council President Jim Letterie also provided an update on how and when a possible debt exclusion vote for one of the two sites could appear on an election ballot.
“At our last meeting, the council approved a request from the school committee to put an override on the ballot,” said Letterie. “Now we are looking at potentially there is a firehouse, potentially there is a citizens’ petition to put 3A on. So I asked the town clerk to call to see what other options we have, and my understanding is … we could have a separate ballot, a town ballot for either a citizens’ petition or a debt exclusion for this November or whenever we choose.”
Letterie said there would be an additional cost to the town if there is a separate ballot for either or both questions.
Town Clerk Denise Quist said if there was a ballot question during the presidential election in November it would cost the town close to $16,000 because the town has to abide by all state laws related to early voting and notifications to voters.
“If we do that, and then we have another ballot question anyway in a month or so, that will be another additional $16,000,” said Quist.
In addition to the efforts to select a site for a new fire station, Marino said there are also plans underway for potential repairs to reinforce the floors in the engine bays of the Pauline Street station.
“There’s a plan in place to put a small retaining wall down there so we can isolate just where the bays are so we can remove the floor, put the fill in, and then pour a new concrete floor over that,” said Marino. “Then we are also getting pricing and plans, we would lose the steam boiler at that point, for what mini-splits and electric heat would cost upstairs.”
Marino said there is no imminent threat for the floor to fall in at the Pauline Street station, but that it is something that the town needs to address.
“We are looking at potentially taking one of the engines out that we don’t use on a regular basis and maybe putting it over at the old DPW garage … so there would be closeby access for it, but we would also lose half the weight on the floor,” said Marino. “We are looking at a few different things, but we want to get a fine-tuned cost before we bring it to the council.”