Bedford council moves South River Road fire substation bond to deliberative session; council recommends approval

The Bedford Town Council voted Monday to place a proposed bond for a South River Road fire substation on the March ballot. The measure would authorize the town to issue up to $8,235,000 in bonds or notes, with $700,000 to come from the facilities design-build capital reserve fund and $43,705 to cover bond issuance costs.

The bond article was introduced by Town Manager Rick Sawyer during a public hearing and presentation. Sawyer read the warrant language and explained that the article would appear on the ballot and that, if approved, bond payments would begin in 2026. “The third paragraph there indicates that there really is no cost in in 2025 and the bond payment starting in 2026 would be approximately 17¢ per thousand,” Sawyer said during the presentation.

The council presentation described a station just under 10,000 square feet at 300 South River Road, configured as a four-bay substation with living quarters, fitness and day room space, six bunks and mezzanine storage. Councilor Kathleen Bemis, who chairs the town facilities committee, said the project is a smaller, redeployment-focused alternative to a larger facility that residents rejected last year: “We all heard loud and clear last year in March that the large overly large, fires and police department proposed at 300 South River Road was not what the residents wanted,” Bemis said, noting the committee redesigned the approach.

The proposal calls for redeploying existing personnel — four of the town’s 11 firefighters per shift — and moving one engine and one ambulance to the new substation; the town said no new staffing or equipment is proposed at this time. Presentations emphasized shorter response times for the South River Road corridor and better coverage across the town when combined with the existing main station.

After the presentation and the public hearing (no speakers addressed the article during the hearing), the council voted to move Article 3 to the town deliberative session on Feb. 3, 2025, and then individually recorded its recommendation. The clerk recorded the council recommendation as 6–1 in favor of the bond. The warrant text notes a three-fifths ballot vote will be required to approve the bond.

If the article is approved by voters, the council is authorized by the warrant language to issue, sell and deliver the bonds, determine payment terms, and to apply for federal, state or other aid that may be available for the project.

Notes: the project presentation included an estimated 10-year debt-service schedule and a 3.25% bond assumption in the town’s illustrative figures. The warrant also authorizes the council to take any further actions necessary for issuance.

The council’s formal motion to move the article to the deliberative session was followed by a recorded recommendation vote that will be shown with the warrant materials as “recommended by the council” 6–1.

Ending: The article will be discussed at the town’s deliberative session on Feb. 3; if voters approve the bond on March 11, debt service is projected to begin in 2026.