BERNARDSTON – After their $2.6 million proposal for the construction of a new fire station at 23 Kringle Drive was overwhelmingly voted down at Wednesday’s special town meeting, the Fire Station Expansion Committee is left asking “What now?”
Fire Chief Peter Shedd, who’s also chairman of the Fire Station Expansion Committee, said the meeting didn’t go as the committee hoped, with a vote of 165-to-31 against the proposed $585,000 land purchase and a 79-to-77 vote to pass over Article 2, which proposed spending more than $2 million on a new station’s construction.
“Right now, half the committee wants to resign,” he said on Thursday. “A lot of time and effort went into this.”
Over the past year, the committee met often, sometimes weekly, to consider different properties and building plans, meeting with architects from Stevens & Associates and outlining a presentation for special town meeting. Given the vote, Shedd said the committee plans to take time off and reconvene after the holidays.
“At this point, I think we’re better off letting things lie, letting the committee think about it a little bit,” he said. “I think most of the committee members are just willing to take time off.”
Though its meetings have been posted, and an open house was held months ago, Shedd said the committee has struggled with getting public input. Some residents offered proposals during Wednesday’s meeting, such as pursuing the adjacent property donated by Frank “Bud” Foster, or considering a multi-use building.
“If it’s a public safety building, I’ve got no issues with that,” Shedd said Thursday in response to sharing space with other departments. However, given the nature of the firefighters’ work, he was concerned about incorporating other offices.
“You’ve got firefighters coming back from a bad accident with blood on them … You have firefighters coming back who want to break down … You’re coming back with potentially hazardous materials on you,” he explained. “It’s sure got liability and lawsuit written all over it, if you ask me.”
Article 3, to appropriate up to $20,000 to purchase a chief’s vehicle for Shedd, passed despite discussion about whether it’s necessary for Bernardston to have a chief’s vehicle. Shedd said more money is still needed to buy a new squad truck, with $42,000 having been appropriated at May’s annual town meeting. The style of vehicle the Fire Department was considering purchasing was also too big to fit in the station.
“We’re still going to do our job to the best of our ability, and work with the equipment we have,” Shedd said. “We know we’re a good department. We know we can do a good job and we’ll continue to do so.”