BERNARDSTON — Though it planned to reach a decision on which lot to pursue for the location of a new fire station, the Fire Station Expansion Committee is moving forward without a determined destination.
The committee voted to ask architects at Stevens & Associates, during Wednesday’s meeting, to design a station that would fit at either the 1 Brattleboro Road lot — which could possibly be combined with a lot at 12 Church St. — and the 23 Kringle Drive property, the two locations under consideration.
“If we’re going to move forward, I don’t see any other path than that one,” committee member Jane Dutcher said.
The motion carried, though not without concerns that the architects working on the project, Jonathan Saccoccio and Cory Frehsee, would need to know a specific lot to move forward with designing and estimating the cost of the building.
“I think (Saccoccio) will say it’s very site-dependent,” committee member Dennis Shockro said. “I think he was very clear he needed a lot in order to give us a price … If the sites were that easy, we never would have gone through everything we’ve been through so far.”
Bernardston Fire Chief Peter Shedd said he would ask the architects to design a 6,000-square-foot, metal, rectangular building that would fit at either location.
The decision was influenced by a lack of progress in land negotiations. The committee had decided to try to negotiate lower land acquisition prices on the $695,000 Kringle Drive and $175,000 Brattleboro Road properties. However, Selectman Robert Raymond reported the committee’s Kringle Drive offer was rejected, and he had yet to hear a response from the owner of the Brattleboro Road lot. The committee voted to increase its offer on the Kringle Drive lot, and allow Raymond to continue negotiations going forward.
Further discussion over which property to choose ensued to little avail, with Bernardston resident Sharon Sharry expressing her concern over potentially using property at 12 Church St., owned by Frank “Bud” Foster. According to Shedd and Foster, should the committee decide on the 1.28-acre Brattleboro Road property and need more land, Foster would be willing to donate his adjacent property, where he rents space to two families.
Sharry said the elderly residents who live there are “physically and emotionally unable to move” and pleaded for the committee to choose the Kringle Drive lot.
Previously, Stevens & Associates estimated the total project cost at Kringle Drive would be $3,801,000, just $68,000 more than the total project cost at 1 Brattleboro Road and 12 Church St., which would be $3,733,000, though actual costs could vary as much as 30 percent more or less. Sharry said she would be in favor of spending more on the building project to mitigate the potential impact on Foster’s tenants, though committee members cited the tax impact on residents.
Dutcher, who is also chair of the Finance Committee, said a $3.5 million project would cause taxes for the owner of a $200,000 house to increase by $400 a year.
“It’s going to be a very hard sell, guys,” committee member Stanley Garland said hypothetically of not accepting Foster’s offer. “You’re giving up free land to buy land.”
The Fire Station Expansion Committee will meet again on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Town Hall.