Is there a central fire station in Whitefield’s future?
Members of the town property committee (alternately known as the town office building committee) presented selectmen a sketch, downsized from an earlier design. The projected total cost is $548,144 for the structure and site work.
The sketch shows a 4800-sq.-ft. station with three bays, leaving the possibility of adding another bay, said architectural designer and committee member Lynn Talacko.
Talacko also said the size of the meeting room was reduced “by quite a bit. It still works as a good-sized building,” he said. Storage areas were made smaller, one shower was eliminated, and there would be a tiny kitchen area.
Committee chair Erik Ekholm said, “The goal was to keep the central station functions as much as possible, cutting more on truck storage area on the assumption there’d be satellite stations,” referring to Kings Mills and Coopers Mills. Whitefield’s third station, located in North Whitefield, would be eliminated.
Ekholm said the proposed central station “should be adequate for the immediate future.”
The station would be located on town property next to the current town office. A proposal to build a new $750,000 town center on the same tract of land was defeated at the 2009 March annual town meeting. Last April, the committee suspended its pursuit of a town office when the board of selectmen instructed the panel to pursue the pros and cons of a central station.
The town currently has three stations operated by three separate and independent associations with inadequate, aged buildings. A study conducted by a fire protection consultant several years ago recommended constructing one centrally located facility and bringing personnel and equipment under one roof.
Another option was to keep two stations as satellites, basically for equipment storage. Consultant Neil Courtenay also recommended making fire protection in Whitefield “a true function of municipal management.”
Ekholm said costs for the new station break down into $468,144 for the building and $80,000 for site work, which includes filling, grading, a septic system and holding tank.
Following further research, the selectmen will decide on one of two loan options from the USDA’s Rural Development funds or Kennebec Savings Bank. The choice is between a 30-year loan at four percent interest or a 20-year loan at five percent. The board will also compute the impact on individual property taxes per $100,000 of valuation.