New Castle Fire Commissioners Hold Off on Firehouse Referendum
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New Castle fire commissioners tabled a resolution authorizing a scaled-down version of their firehouse expansion plans last week in hopes of reviewing the project with Chappaqua Fire Department leadership. At its July 21 meeting, the New Castle Fire District No. 1 Board of Commissioners appeared ready to decide on spending up to $13,416,29, to be voted on in a referendum late this year. The board had been eyeing a vote for the second Tuesday in December, the day of the annual fire commissioner election.
However, Chappaqua Fire Chief Paul Eiden, when asked by Commissioner Dwight Smith whether the project would meet firefighters’ needs, said membership has not spoken to the board since last November.
“I have no idea what the new plans are,” Eiden said. “I can’t opine on it.”
Passage of the proposition would allow the fire district to build the new firehouse wing and include critical infrastructure, such as mechanical, electrical and plumbing, on the second level for potential build-out at a later time.
Commissioners appeared to reach a consensus to eliminate a full build-out for the second floor that would have cost nearly another $1 million and to remove the proposed renovation of the 1954 and 1979 wings of the current firehouse for over $2.9 million more because of concerns that it would be difficult to convince the public to approve an almost $17.4 million project at this time.
“This hasn’t been an easy process,” said Board Chair Terence Hoey said. “We’re about there. The board needs to have the courage to just decide what we want to do. The sooner we decide the better because we need to get this referendum scheduled.”
An estimate last December from the fire district’s architect, Mitchell Associates Architects, pegged the cost of the project, including a complete second floor and renovation of the two older wings, at just under $17 million. But inflation and rising interest rates forced the board to reconsider the project’s scope. At one point, it was feared that the escalating costs could cause the full project to approach $18 million.
Commissioner Brian Murphy has been a leading voice on the board in urging his colleagues to downsize the work and address the first-floor expansion only.
“That’s what’s needed at this time, at this moment, right now,” Murphy said. “This first floor is what’s needed here.”
A larger facility is needed to fit the modern fire trucks and increase safety for firefighters, allowing more space between the trucks when rushing to a call and to accommodate equipment to decontaminate the gear after a blaze, among other features.
Hoey replied that since he’s been board chair, the board has operated transparently. He said any insinuation to the contrary is “unfair and perhaps even disingenuous” because of the number of public meetings and work sessions devoted to the issue.
“To suggest that the chiefs or anyone’s not involved in this is just, it’s a little disheartening for me to hear, and this conversation is quite damaging in terms of addressing the project,” Hoey said.
But Eiden disagreed, saying membership hadn’t been invited to any meetings with the board, the architect or the Community Liaison Committee to discuss any revisions to the plans.
The most important factor is whether the department can effectively respond to calls once construction of the new firehouse wing is complete, he said.
“We came up with an operationally-functional building so that the plan at the time would be all the operations would be in the new building, so that we would not miss a step with regards to responding,” Eiden said.
Smith said the board should schedule a work session with the chiefs and invite everyone who wants to participate so the district and the fire department are on the same page.
“We know where we want to go, but let’s make sure that the department, that their needs, are going to be met,” Smith said.
No date was set for when a meeting with the chiefs might take place.
Correction: In the original posting of this article, Paul Eiden was incorrectly identified as the Chappaqua Fire Department’s first assistant chief. He serves as chief. Also, it was Commissioner Dwight Smith who had asked Eiden whether the scaled-down plan met the needs of the firefighters, not Board Chair Terence Hoey.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
