Council moves South River Road fire station bond to deliberative session after presentation of costs, response plan

The Bedford Town Council voted to move an article authorizing long-term debt for construction of a South River Road fire substation to the town’s deliberative session, with the council recording a 6–1 recommendation in favor.

Town Manager Rick Sawyer opened the council’s presentation of the warrant article, which asks voters to “raise and appropriate the sum of $8,935,000” for construction and related site, furniture and equipment and to authorize issuance of not more than $8,235,000 in bonds or notes under the Municipal Finance Act, with $700,000 proposed from the facilities design-build capital reserve and $43,705 for bond issuance costs. Bond payments would begin about one year after issuance; staff estimated the first debt-service payment in 2026 at about $1,080,000 and said the per-thousand tax impact would be approximately $0.17 in 2026, decreasing over a roughly 10-year schedule.

Councilor Kathleen Bemis, a member of the facilities committee, said the committee narrowed earlier, larger proposals after voter feedback and presented a station of just under 10,000 square feet that staff estimates will meet town needs for roughly 30 years. The council and staff emphasized this proposal would redeploy existing fire personnel—moving some staff and apparatus to South River Road—rather than immediately adding new positions or equipment. Staff described operational shifts: one of the department’s four engines and one of three ambulances would be based at the new substation, and four firefighters per shift (of a typical 11-per-shift roster) would be assigned there. The design includes four apparatus bays, six bunk rooms shown in current plans, a fitness area, decontamination space and a small mezzanine for storage; the rendering shown to the council also includes rooftop solar panels.

The council opened a public hearing on the article; no members of the public addressed the council on the fire-station warrant item during that hearing.

During deliberations the town manager and facilities committee members said the station’s location would shorten response times to the South River Road corridor and large apartment complexes and improve river access for water-rescue responses. They said mutual-aid agreements remain in place for other portions of town and no immediate worsening of service is expected on the town’s west side. The presentation noted the project is a response to growth since the department’s current location began serving the town in 1994 and to a 219% increase in calls for service that officials said the department has handled with incremental staffing increases.

Action: On a motion to move the article to the deliberative session, the council voted 7–0 (motion carried). On a separate roll-call recommendation the council recorded a 6–1 recommendation in favor of placing the article on the ballot.

What happens next: The article will appear on the March warrant; voters must approve the authorization by the three-fifths ballot-vote threshold stated in the warrant language. If approved, staff said bond issuance is expected in mid 2025 with the first debt payment beginning in 2026.

Funding and legal note: The warrant as read cites the Municipal Finance Act and uses customary warrant language authorizing the council to apply for and accept federal, state, or other aid that may be available for the project. The town’s presentation said $700,000 of the project would come from a designated capital reserve fund and that bond issuance costs were estimated separately in the warrant.