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Resident voices opposition to Fire Station 27 site in East Roswell Park
Summary
At the March 31 open forum, residents strongly criticized city officials for selecting East Roswell Park as the site for Fire Station 27, arguing the location sacrifices parkland and does not meet operational safety and access standards.
Residents at the Roswell open forum pressed elected officials to reconsider plans to place Fire Station 27 inside East Roswell Park, saying the chosen site fails to meet safety, access and service-time expectations.
"East Roswell Park is not a safe site for a fire station," said Patsy Van Pelt, who argued the city disregarded consultant recommendations and bypassed outreach to the church-owned parcel that consultants suggested. Van Pelt said the selected site is narrower than a fire engine, has single-street access and would bring heavy apparatus less than 30 feet from neighbors’ homes multiple times per day.
She asked the council why the site moved from a mid- to long-term project to an immediate need without transparent cost and site-delay analyses, and urged leaders to pause and find a safer location. Van Pelt also questioned why the Roswell Development Authority was not engaged for site selection.
The forum did not include a staff presentation or response on the record to address the site-selection rationale; Nor did the council take formal action. Speakers asked for more analysis on projected response times, condemnation feasibility for alternate parcels and the fiscal implications of delaying construction by a year to seek a different site.
Mayor Robichaud closed the forum by promising staff would post questions and answers online; residents urged that any posted material include the consultant site recommendations and comparative response-time analyses.
