Fire district details firehouse funding

By THANE GRAUEL

The Pound Ridge Fire District plans to hold three public information sessions in advance of public vote on an additional $3.5 million bond for the firehouse expansion and update.

The public already had approved in December 2022, $6.5 million toward what had been expected to be a $7.75 million project. The rest of the money was to come from the department’s reserve.

Board of Fire District Commission Chair Peter Gallagher went before the town board on Tuesday to provide a timeline for how the anticipated costs increased substantially.

He said the original numbers came after the design phase and the detailed design phase a couple of years ago. The project received planning board approval in December 2023.

“We then completed the design in March of 2024. What we decided to do at that point, because some time had gone by was, let’s hire a construction firm to come and look at our detailed designs and give us an estimate of what this project is before we go through a whole public bidding process,” Gallagher told the town board. “Because I don’t want to go through a public bidding process only to find out that we have a problem in cost. And unfortunately, when we did that, we had a problem with cost.”

The estimate had grown to $9.87 million, he said.

With an additional bond, the impact for the average district taxpayer would rise by $80 a year for 30 years. That’s beyond the increase from the original bond of $197 a year.

“We were all very interested to know the status,” Town Supervisor Kevin Hansan said when introducing Gallagher. “We looked in the fall about the when the construction was starting and it moved to Halloween, and we thought for sure that things were going to get started. And then, you know, you kind of start to notice things aren’t being done. So, I really appreciate you coming in and giving us an update.”

The Fire District, like school districts, is a governmental body separate from the town.

Three public information sessions, where people can ask questions about the project, are planned at the Pound Ridge Firehouse, located at 80 Westchester Ave., Pound Ridge:

— Wednesday, April 2, from 5 to 6 p.m.

— Friday, April 4, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

— Sunday, April 6, from noon to 1 p.m.

The vote is to take place April 8.

Information about the project is available on the district’s website, poundridgefiredistrict.com

According to the department, the expansion project, once started, will take about 18 months to complete. 

The plan is to merge four lots and expand its existing headquarters, including the relocation of its driveway and site improvements on the 10.4-acre property.

The firehouse was last updated more than three decades ago when it received a two-bay addition in the rear.

The new project includes a two-bay addition on the front of the existing building and upgrades to the infrastructure and site work to improve parking and maintain and manage water quality. 

The project also includes replacement of the HVAC system, water treatment, a generator and the information technology network, as well as vehicle exhaust management and fuel/heating oil storage.