I am confused. We are being asked to approve a $6 million fourth fire station on Mountain Road. The information being disseminated is piecemeal, sometimes contradictory and often misleading.
My personal experience leads me to expect a cohesive, professional, impartial study that defines the need, states the problem and suggests a solution. The last time there was any comprehensive examination of our fire and safety needs was 2008. Why has this study never been referenced? (Find it on the town website by clicking on Services, Fire and Rescue, then Fire & Rescue Services Study.)
Why has the 2008 study not been updated? It does not recommend a central fire station. It focuses on how to maintain standards and ensure consistency at the three existing departments. It also says that for a rural town, the benchmark for adequate response time is 14 minutes from time of dispatch for 80% of calls.
The architecture firm reports that its assignment was to design and estimate the cost of a building to supplement the three fire stations. Now there are rumblings about this new station becoming the base for all municipal firefighters and emergency response and the existing three stations being relegated to support services done by volunteers.
For a project of this size, proper research and analysis by a qualified and independent body (not town officials or citizen volunteers) is imperative so voters can make an informed decision. We should demand due diligence from our town leaders as part of their fiduciary responsibility. Until that happens, I am voting no on the proposed central fire station.
Liz Taylor, Orr’s Island
