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Selectboard committee presses for a scaled fire‑station design; bond to be presented on ballot
Summary
A citizen committee described a redesigned, smaller fire station the town could finance by bond; the committee said the revised plan reduced previous estimates by nearly $2 million and that bond service would be similar to recent capital-reserve payments.
A citizen committee and town officials described a new, reduced‑cost design for a replacement fire station and urged voters to approve a bond on the upcoming ballot.
Committee members said the revised design reduces costs compared with earlier proposals. “We were able to shave almost $2,000,000 off the cost that had been proposed before,” a committee presenter said. The committee recommended building on a town‑owned parcel that would lower grading and site work costs.
Funding and tax effect: Presenters said the bond service is “essentially the same amount of money that we've been paying the last 3 years, for to put in the capital reserve for the fire station,” and that about $150,000 of the annual bond service would come from general taxation, supplemented by $200,000 in secured grants and roughly $150,000 from undesignated fund balance and the capital reserve. The transcript also recorded a committee statement that last year the article received majority support but did not reach the required 60% approval.
Why it matters: A modern station is presented as necessary to meet current firefighting needs and to anchor fire services in the town. Committee members said the size and design allow future expansion and aim to improve firefighter recruitment, though a full‑time professional department was not presented as an immediate plan.
The committee announced public open houses on the proposed plans and emphasized efforts to lower cost including a design ceiling that the group set for the architect. The transcript records no formal bond vote; the financing proposal will appear on the town ballot.
