Hamden voters clear debt-exclusion question to fund $8.3 million fire station project; ballot vote next

Hamden voters at their annual town meeting voted to send a question to the ballot that would allow the town to borrow $8,300,000 to renovate and expand the town’s single fire station on North Road.

Supporters said the 1964-era building is undersized for modern fire apparatus and lacks separate decontamination space, training capacity and ADA-compliant facilities. The select board and the volunteer fire department asked voters to approve a debt-exclusion ballot measure on June 23 that would fund construction if the ballot question passes.

Planning the project grew out of condition studies completed in 2020 and a follow-up design process. Building committee chair Mark Barba told town meeting, “We have one station in town. … Our current station is about 5,000 square feet” and that modern engines and tankers no longer fit the bays safely. He said the proposal would add roughly 5,000 square feet of usable space, create a dedicated decontamination area, expand training and administrative space, and include site work such as a relocated driveway and a cistern for firefighting water.

The building committee presented an estimated project cost of $7.9 million in current construction dollars and explained an escalation allowance that brings the total borrowing request to $8.3 million. The town treasurer summarized likely debt-service scenarios and their tax effects, saying that, depending on interest rates, “annual payments should be between $644,000 and $873,000,” and projecting a first-year tax-rate impact in the range of about 4.3% to 5.9%, or roughly $275 to $375 on the average single-family tax bill of $6,400 under the assumptions presented.

Supporters emphasized firefighter safety and the difficulty of recruiting and retaining volunteers without modern facilities. Former career firefighter Eric Madison, who said he teaches at the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, urged passage: “We need to provide them with the proper facilities.” Opponents and some residents pressed for more detail about site impacts, abutter outreach and long-term operating costs.

Procedurally the article required a two-thirds vote at town meeting to appear on the June ballot. Town meeting members voted to proceed by paper ballot (an earlier motion for a secret ballot failed) and then approved the two-thirds threshold. The article will appear on the June 23 special election ballot for final voter approval; work cannot begin until both the town-meeting and ballot approvals are obtained and financing is arranged.

If the ballot question passes, the building committee said construction would begin after final design and permitting; the project team estimated a 20-year bond would be used to retire the debt with level principal payments. Town officials stressed the proposal is contingent on the separate ballot vote and that the town will provide updated cost and financing figures as plans advance.

Background: past condition assessments and two architectural studies produced alternatives ranging from targeted renovations to fully new construction. The current plan keeps the station at 19 North Road and adds bays and support space intended to meet operational needs for decades.