The Concord Trustees and administration are working hard to revise the plans for our new fire stations following the resounding defeat of Issue 1 last November. We wanted to give you a brief update on the current state as well as advise you of a couple key public meetings that we would encourage you to attend to ensure our collective voice continues to be heard.
The township is currently re-exploring the size and associated costs of Station No. 1, although at a recent meeting, they said they can still build an approximate 23,000-square-foot fire station (the original plan called for 24,000 square feet) and still realize substantial cost savings.
While we’re pleased the funding options for Station No. 1 won’t include an increase in taxes, we are still concerned about the overall size and cost of the main station. Also, such a large station will increase operating expenses, and the township has not yet quantified the new operational costs nor if they can afford them within the current tax revenue.
Importantly, it was stated that there may be a tax increase to build an expensive auxiliary Station No. 2, currently on Prouty Rd. Public insight into the township’s budgets – and for both new fire stations – will be critically important as we go forward.
Affordable Concord Taxes’ focus will remain on ensuring the Trustees continue to be forthright in communicating their intentions and specific plans/budgets. Essential considerations include the size of our community, the number of calls our firefighters and EMS teams respond to relative to other communities, and mutual-aid options.
What we do not want, and cannot accept, is for Station No. 1 to be overbuilt/overpriced and funded using revenue sources currently available to our elected officials, only to have plans for Station No. 2 disclosed that might again ask for residents to foot the bill through higher taxes. And regardless, we as residents of this community should all be concerned about prudent and responsible spending on the part of our officials.
Although the dates have not been set, the township has stated that it plans to hold two “Stakeholder Meetings” in which they will receive and consider resident input. The plan at this point is to hold one such meeting prior to revised architectural plans being developed and a second meeting after the plans are presented to the public.
After each of the presentations, there will be three breakout sessions around the (1) design and construction of Station No. 1, (2) cost and financing, and (3) emergency response issues in general.
We are encouraged that the township is committed to taking this more robust approach to accepting public input, and we will be sure to share the dates of the Stakeholder Meetings once they are known.
Thank you to all for your continued and active support around these very important issues. Please let us know if you have any questions, and you should feel free to contact any of the Trustees directly and separate from the normal town hall meetings.
With you in making a difference,
Bob Sanderson
Treasurer