Case Laid Out for New Millwood Firehouse at Q&A Luncheon

With just weeks to go before the April 12 bond vote for the new Millwood firehouse, commissioners and firefighters greeted members of the community with food and dessert on Saturday for an information session, which included giving a recap presentation of the process and fielding questions.

Officials present took the event as a chance to make their case for needing the new building, which would be erected off of Millwood Road, about 500 feet east of the current Station #1, where the meeting was held. Most notable among their arguments for doing so was that the building has outlived its useful life and is no longer adequate due to regulations that have come into play over its 80-plus years of existence. To make this point, fliers were distributing noting big moments in history that occurred during the station’s history; Calvin Coolidge having been president when the firehouse was built was one fact cited.

“This building has basically outlived its useful life, and that’s one of key things that we want residents to take away,” said Board of Fire Commissioners Chair Hala Makowska. She noted that a report was done about 20 years ago calling for a replacement, and two emergency renovations had to be done to the current station within the last 10 years, in 2001 and 2007.

Millwood Fire Chief Joe Rod stated that there wasn’t much room for firefighters to run by a parked engine within the building when they have to their gear on.

“When they say unsafe, I don’t think you really have to be an engineer or anything to come down here and see what it’s like,” said Neil Gollogly, a former chief and 53-year member of the department.

Construction and Site Planning

The proposed building, it was noted, will be 18,000 square feet, have two stories and five back-in bays, with room for a sixth. It will be situated on a nine-acre parcel at the end of a driveway off of Millwood Road, known on paper as Allen Avenue. The district purchased the property in 2007 and subsequently added a smaller adjacent piece in order to attain clear title to the driveway, Makowska explained. The later property, along with the current Station #1 site, will each be sold off when the project is done, she explained. The current station’s site is zoned for retail at street level and upper-floor residential space.

Responding to questions from the audience about the driveway, it was explained that it would be wide enough for two vehicles to travel through, and that there will be a special traffic light that constantly stays green, only changing colors when firefighters have to turn out of the intersection with Millwood Road (Route 133). It was also explained that the district will do snow removal on the driveway.

The building will used “tried and true” construction, Makowska said, and the project will employ some environmentally friendly techniques, such as having a “no-mow” lawn and the stormwater retention pond. Other methods, such as installing solar panels, were ruled out due to the cost, although PVC pipes will be installed for panels in the event that they become financially practical.

However, the site presents several challenges, which involve bringing in infrastructure, such as a septic system and electricity. The firehouse would also be built near steep slopes and there will have to be stormwater mitigation for the site, which includes creating a pond to collect and regulate the movement of rain water. Overall, the complexity of the area will bring the site work cost to $2,334,014 (the construction cost for the building is $9,839,127). At one point, in noting taxpayers’ concerns about the project Makowska said that this increases the cost per square foot of the project in relation to other sites for firehouses. Despite this, the site meets the district’s criteria for having a centrally located station within its area.

There have been other sites available before, it has been noted at various meetings, but the district could not obtain them, either because it did not have the funds, or because of controversy (this was in the case of a 2004 proposal to take a neighboring property through eminent domain).

Fiscal and Tax Impact

The effect that the firehouse will have on taxes of district residents, and how the project is being paid for, were on the minds of attendees and have been common areas of concern during the broader process.

The overall cost of the project will be more than $13 million, with about $9.95 million for the long-term bond. Another $2.25 million will come from a capital reserve, which the district has been putting money into (at an average annual rate in the $600,000 to $700,000 range) since the early 2000s, according to Makowska. Currently there is about $1.5-1.6 million in the fund, she said. Money has been withdrawn from it in the past to pay for purchasing the property, to conduct a since-ditched plan for an earlier proposed firehouse and to pay people hired to help with the project, she explained.

Overall, the project will be tax neutral, said Makowska, citing the use of taxes in previous years for the capital reserve.

“So we’ve already, in essence, felt the pain, said Makowska, calling the situation “the heavy levy syndrome.”

After a large tax cut was given for the 2010 budget (at $1,489,775, from $1,709,090 in 2009) the levy is increasing to $1,489,775 for this year. However, in showing projected taxes for the next decade, the levy will not exceed the average of 2007-10 taxes (in the upper $1.6 million range) until 2014, according to data presented. The estimated levy for 2020, using assumptions that include likely years for future equipment purchases, is $1,830,641.

The use of previous years’ tax dollars for the capital reserve has been a point of concern before, and one resident at the meeting questioned its purpose.

“We’ve been taxed to create a slush fund,” said Christian Wyser-Pratte, who moved to New Castle last May with his wife.

“I call it a lot of money,” said Tom Curley, an architect who helped the district plan for the project in its earlier stage. Curley explained that the intent was, while noting that he wasn’t defending it, to have funds in order to move the project forward. Schapiro, responding to Wyser-Pratte’s concern, said they were not trying to hide that fact, and were explaining what was happening historically.

Regarding the purpose of the capital reserve, Rod cited a past case where a property near by that had been on the market but could not be purchased due to insufficient funds.

One reason for building the new firehouse is with the goal to make it easier to attract new volunteers and retain them, and to have a place for firefighters to be proud of.

“Think about that when the vote comes up,” a fire department member said. “We would like to be proud of our house.”

That reason would have a economic benefit, it was argued. If the district has to switch to a paid fire department as an alternative, taxes could be $2.5 million to $3.2 million higher, based on independent data presented.

What’s Ahead

The vote will take place April 12 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., at Station #1. Absentee balloting is not available as an option, something Makowska apologized for, citing a long lead time in relation to when the bond vote date was set.

Already, signs are being putting out asking residents to vote “yes” for the bond. When asked what the reaction would be to a “No” vote, Schapiro said they will deal with the consequences afterward. In the meantime, the district is focused on getting its case across to the public, which will include mailing out notices to residents of the district containing answers to frequently asked questions about the project.

There is also one legal issue that is still being addressed: The status of an old covenant restricting the property to allowing for single-family homes to be constructed. There is an “agreement in principle,” with neighboring property owners, although Schapiro declined to give details of the cost because an agreement hasn’t been signed yet. Regardless of whether there is an agreement, the fire district can opt to have the covenant legally extinguished, Schapiro explained.