Alna Fire Dept. is returning to voters March 21 with a $200,000 firehouse addition plan after defeat of last year’s $1 million town center proposal.
Fire Chief Mike Trask presented the potential $375,000 plan to the Board of Selectmen Feb. 4 calling for a 50 by 60 foot addition added onto the north side of the present structure.
Trask said an anonymous donor has pledged $160,000 for the project. Since the town previously appropriated $15,000 for foundation work, a total cost to the town’s taxpayers amounts to $200,000. The $375,000 would cover upgrades to the existing facility as well.
“I think it’s one of the better plans they’ve come up with,” First Selectman Billie Willard said Tuesday. “We know they need to do something there.”
Willard seems to think this proposal might meet with more public acceptance in light of last year’s discussions and rejection of the proposed new firehouse that could have eventually included town offices at the annual town meeting in March.
This year, she believes the results could be different. “The drawings look good, and it looks like a workable thing,” she said.
Willard said she hopes the payments for the $200,000 loan would be spread out over 15 years.
Trask spoke of the new plan as advantageous when considering the cramped downstairs quarters where the department houses the fire trucks currently. That area would become modified for use as office space, creating much room needed for that purpose, he said.
The plan includes bringing the entire building up to code, including a new ADA compliant bathroom and ramps, electrical and plumbing upgrades, and new heating system.
Trask touted the plan for having another major benefit because firemen could drive the fire vehicles directly out onto Rt. 218 instead of negotiating the dangerous intersection of Golden Ridge Rd. and Rt. 218. Currently the station’s bay doors open onto Golden Ridge Rd.
Willard said she hoped to see the article ready for the town warrant at the board’s regular meeting Feb. 11. She said she is anxious to get the warrant ready in the required time prior to town meeting in March.
Passage of the article at the annual business meeting March 21 would mean the board could immediately put the construction out to bid and conceivably construction could begin this spring, Trask said.
This year Tom Smith, Donna Wallace, and Troy Giroux will compete for the second selectman’s seat Butch Brown currently holds. Brown chose not to run again for the two-year position.
In another race, David Seigars is running against incumbent Brian Lawrence for third selectman for a two-year term.
Dominic “Nick” Caristo has taken out nomination papers for the one-year post of treasurer, and Mike Trask has chosen to run again for the one-year position as road commissioner. Incumbent treasurer Chris Cooper is not running for office this year.