By Adam Swift
It’s getting close to the homestretch for the town to provide information about a debt exclusion vote for a new fire station at the site of the Wadsworth Building and Kirby Funeral Home on Winthrop Street.
Tuesday saw a well-attended Chamber of Commerce Breakfast with local business leaders at the Meat Market in the Wadsworth Building to discuss the project and how it will impact the building tenants.
The same day saw presentations from Fire Chief Scott Wiley at the annual Town Fall Forum at the Deleo Senior Center about the department’s need for a new fire station.
On Tuesday, WCAT also released a video update on the project on its YouTube page featuring Town Manager Tony Marino, Town Council President Jim Letterie, and state Representative Jeff Turco.
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.
“We had a great Chamber of Commerce meeting over at the Market, and took some input from local business owners, and one of the questions that came up … is if the vote is not successful, which we hope it will be, what are the next steps,” said Marino.
Letterie said the fire station proposal was put together and put to the public in a period of less than ten months. If it does fail on the November ballot, Letterie said there could be more education about the project for it to be put back on a town ballot in the spring.
“The costs of these projects just continue to go up,” said Letterie. “The town brought a proposed firehouse in 1997, the cost of that project was $3.5 million. The town didn’t do it at the time, and over the next 20 years, the town really focused on education.”
Marino noted that one of the big concerns with residents has been the future of the Meat Market and the other businesses currently in the Wadsworth Building.
“We have been working very hard to keep the businesses in town, and we are confident that we can,” said Marino. “The benefit is that hopefully we will have a new fire station, be able to maintain those businesses in town, and potentially do some economic development at the old Middle School site.”
The Cimino brothers, who own the Meat Market, have voiced their support of the fire station project and have said that they are continuing to work with the town to find a new location for the business in Winthrop.
The debt exclusion total would include the funding for the relocation of the Wadsworth businesses.
There will be tours of both the Shirley Avenue and Pauline Street fire stations available for residents this Saturday morning.
“The fact that the people don the uniform cheerfully every day to go to work for the community is to me a testament to the quality of the people we have working for us that they do that despite the conditions we have given them to work in,” said Turco.