Tyngsborough fire-station committee reports 220 survey responses, will explore scaled-back options

The Tyngsborough fire station building committee has completed a listening tour and collected community feedback — about 220 online survey responses to date — and is now exploring ways to scale back or rework the proposed fire station project, Town Manager Colin Wieselt told the finance committee Tuesday.

Wieselt said the committee has hosted three information sessions and is reviewing written correspondence and survey input to identify whether the project can be reduced in scope or if an existing property could be acquired and converted instead of constructing a new building from scratch. The committee plans to present an early draft of findings at its meeting on Wednesday and a joint meeting with the select board on August 10.

The manager acknowledged a recurring resident concern: moving forward with a fire station project now could lead to needing to address a police station project soon after. He said the committee is aware of that sequencing concern and is looking at options to avoid back-to-back large capital requests, including conversion or acquisition of existing structures.

Wieselt urged residents to complete the online feedback form or submit letters; the committee has followed up personally with respondents who left contact information. The committee indicated it is unlikely to rush a new proposal onto the October town meeting warrant and may return with a modified plan at a later session.

Next procedural steps: the fire station building committee will finalize an early draft of public feedback, the select board will review that draft in a joint meeting on August 10, and the committee will evaluate scaled-back designs or acquisition options before deciding whether to place a proposal on a future town meeting warrant.