Warner creates $165,000 fire‑station capital reserve amid debate over oversight and site costs

On March 11, 2015 Warner voters approved Article 12 to establish a Capital Reserve Fund under RSA 35:1 for purchase of a new fire station site, and design and construction work, and to raise $165,000 to place in the fund. The final paper-ballot tally on Article 12 was YES 76, NO 50.

Selectman Allan Brown reviewed the site search process and recommended Map 34, Lot 20 (2.6 acres) as the preferred location, saying the committee evaluated roughly 41 lots on paper and visited 19 sites in person. Brown said the recommended lot is on West Main Street about a half-mile from the current station and that the parcel already has town sewer and water, making it relatively cheaper to develop. He also outlined site-prep estimates and noted a potential $200,000 estimate for site work versus roughly $350,000 for a previously considered parcel that required more fill and utility work.

The meeting included a substantial debate over governance and expenditure authority. John Leavitt moved to amend Article 12 so that the Board of Selectmen and the Budget Committee would be named co-agents to expend from the new CRF and that any expenditure would require a 2/3 majority of members present after a public hearing. Selectman Brown and supporters argued that RSA limits and customary practice favor naming the Board of Selectmen as agents; Budget Committee members and others who supported the amendment framed their proposal as a checks-and-balances measure. The amendment failed (YES 47 / NO 63), and Article 12 was then approved as originally presented.

Selectman Brown provided a ledger of prior expenditures tied to the earlier fire-station effort: Warren Street Architects and related site work $125,751; prior land purchase $76,180; removal of the building $3,255; engineering $500; permitting $1,350 — a total of $207,036 he said had been spent on the previously purchased site. Brown said the new lot’s negotiated asking price is $125,000 and that the lot is assessed at $80,000.

Fire Chief Ed Raymond added that the department preferred a location situated before Exit 9 because the majority of calls come from the east side of town, improving response efficiency. Voters approved Article 12, authorizing the town to place the $165,000 into the newly established CRF; Selectmen indicated that a building committee will be formed to guide future design work and public hearings prior to any expenditure from the fund.

Next steps: the Selectmen plan to proceed with site acquisition steps and formation of a building committee; future expenditures from the CRF will be subject to the agents-of-expenditures rules established by the article and applicable RSA provisions.