Williamstown Fire District Asks Voters to Approve Land Deal
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The officials who oversee the town's fire district are hoping the third time is a charm.
On Tuesday, the district's voters will be asked in a special 7 p.m. district meeting whether to acquire a 3.7-acre Main Street parcel where the Prudential Committee, which oversees the district, hopes to build a new fire station.
"We have searched high and low through the town since 2005 for a location we felt would best serve the town," Prudential Committee Chairman John Notsley told the town's Finance Committee last week. "This has always been in the forefront."
If this sounds familiar to local residents, it should. In 2013, the committee called back-to-back special district meetings attempting to purchase the same property. Each time, the majority of voters were in favor of the purchase, but the vote fell short of the two-thirds majority needed for passage.
Much has changed since 2013.
Perhaps the biggest thing was the completion of a joint effort by the town and fire district (a separate taxing authority apart from Town Hall), who looked at whether a property could be found to accommodate a public safety building for both the Williamstown Police Department and the district.
One of the arguments lodged against the district's acquisition of the so-called Lehovec property four years ago was the notion that the Prudential Committee should work with Town Hall to find a solution that worked for both sets of first responders. The ad hoc Public Safety Building Study Committee concluded that no such property could be found.
And in the spring, Town Manager Jason Hoch announced the town was going its own way, entering into a purchase and sales agreement for a Simonds Road property where the town plans to move the WPD.
The next big change came in May, when the town's Zoning Board of Appeals denied special permits needed for a proposed hotel property on the Lehovec property.
Another of the arguments against building a fire station on the site four years ago was that the property was one of a few sites in town zoned commercially. But the ZBA, in response to vehement opposition from residents in the nearby Colonial Village neighborhood, closed the door on the only commercial proposal to reach Town Hall since the property went on the market.
The third big change from 2013 is the financial picture.
Four years ago, the Prudential Committee negotiated a purchase price of $575,000. This time around, the purchase price is $400,000, a drop of 30 percent.
Even better, from the district's standpoint, the rental homes that were on the site four years ago have been removed by the current owner, the estate of Kurt Lehovec.
"That means the purchaser doesn't have to get rid of the buildings," Notsley said. "That's about $100,000 saving right there."
And instead of bonding for the purchase, as the district planned in 2013, the Prudential Committee wants to purchase the land out of its free cash and stabilization accounts — the savings it routinely holds for the purchase of apparatus. That means if voters approve the land purchase on Tuesday evening, it will have no impact on property taxes.
Perhaps because of some of these changes, the land purchase has not generated nearly the public opposition it faced in 2013. One of the most vocal dissenters four years ago, Fin Comm member Dan Gendron, said Wednesday that he supports the land deal this time around.
And where in 2013, the Prudential Committee was criticized for not informing the public more ahead of the vote, this time around Notsley has addressed the Board of Selectmen and Fin Comm, and the district invited the public to an evening information session on Oct. 5.
Although many things are different this time around, one thing has not changed: the district's conclusion that it needs a new fire station.
The current Water Street facility barely accommodates the engines firefighters use and will not accommodate a water tanker that officials say is needed to fight fires outside the town's hydrant district, like South Williamstown. The new site also is large enough to also provide room for training space on the grounds.
"We've been in the current location since 1949, and it's just been outgrown, unfortunately," Notsley said. "With the new rules and regulations, we're not in compliance."
The Williamstown Fire District has an FAQ document posted here. The special fire district meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Williamstown Elementary School.
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