Town Council President Jim Letterie highlighted the current plans for the new fire station at the old middle school site at last week’s council meeting.
Letterie provided a brief update on the most recent firehouse building committee meeting and the ongoing demolition of the old middle school and auditorium on the site.
“The middle school building is down and they are taking roughly 10 truckloads, 10 18-wheelers a day out in debris,” said Letterie. “The debris is separated into rebar and concrete; all of that debris is going to be recycled.”
Letterie also noted that there is still time to change some of the design of the proposed building, but as of now, the current architectural rendering differs from the previous rendering in that the apparatus bay is now on the right side of the building instead of the left.
There will also be a walkway between the firehouse building and the gymnasium which will provide access to and from Ingleside Park, he added.
“The furthest left of the building, where it is at its peak height, the peak height is 46 feet,” said Letterie. “However, it is sunken down from the sidewalk so you won’t have the effect of 46 feet. It is also from the closest point to the sidewalk roughly 52 feet away, where the old middle school was roughly 15 feet away, so it is definitely set back further.”
Letterie said the demolition of the auditorium was slated to get underway this week.
“It will take an additional three to five weeks to get all the debris out and to have a clean site,” he said. “The goal is right now, by the end of February or very early March, you will have a clean site. The fence will stay up during the whole process.”
Letterie said there was also a question about the Cellucci family memorial at the school.
“The plaque is in the custody of the town,” said Letterie. “That plaque, along with a bench donated by the town along with a new tree will be planted at Cellucci Field with the permanent Memorial. My understanding is that this is something that has been discussed with the family and not something we are doing on our own.”
Letterie said there is a link to the firehouse building committee on the town’s website with the latest information on the building process.