Voters in the North West Fire District approved the North West Fire District’s proposal to build a new fire station and expand Station 1 on May 8 by a margin of 216 to 110.
About two and a half years after residents of the fire district voted down a plan to expand Station 1 on Crego Road and build a new Station No. 3 on Smokey Hollow Road, the district presented a more palatable plan that involved constructing the new station at the site of a former shopping center at 117 Oswego St. The plan also includes a 4,470-square-foot expansion to Station 1 has remained the same since the 2015 proposal.
NWFD Commissioner Beckie Wasielewski told the Messenger last month that the current plan addresses the concerns residents had expressed about the 2015 proposal about noise, drainage and traffic.
The fire district plans to demolish about 60 percent of the existing building on Oswego Street, renovating the north side of the building for bunk-in rooms, meeting and training areas, office space and gear storage. The station would also include three apparatus bays and a laundry and decontamination room. The building’s footprint will be 13,000 square feet, with additional shared parking added out front.
The total cost of both the renovation to Station 1 and the construction of Station 3 is $4,534,150. The NWFD is taking $200,000 of that from their fund balance. The remaining $4,334,150 will be borrowed over a 28-year period. Residents of the district will pay an additional $0.30 per $1,000 of assessed value, or about $45 a year on a $150,000 house.
After the referendum, Wasielewski thanked residents for coming out to vote.
“The approval for the relocation and building of a new Station 3 will result in faster response times, particularly to the district residents north of the Seneca River,” she said in a statement. “It will also allow for safer working conditions for our firefighters. The Station 1 addition will create adequate meeting and training space that will benefit the entire district.”
Wasielewski also thanked the district’s members and their families for their commitment, noting that the department responds to about 900 calls per year.
“Our mission remains steadfast in providing the highest level of community and emergency services to our district residents,” she said.
