Jan. 31 is Last Info Meeting on New Castle Fire Commissioners' Land Plan

CHAPPAQUA, NY — After its plan to buy land and build a new $15 million firehouse was defeated by voters, the Board of Fire Commissioners for New Castle Fire District No. 1 has another two-question referendum coming up Feb. 7.

This one is to just for the land. The plan is to purchase the property at 495 King St., next to the current firehouse, and demolish it.

The Board of Fire Commissioners does not give any information on its website about the price tag. The October proposition asked voter approval to purchase, demolish and clean up contamination on the property at a cost of $2,674,644.

The vote will be held from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Feb. 7. No absentee ballots are allowed.

The board has held several information sessions on the proposals, scheduled at various times of day to accommodate residents, at 491 King St., in the first floor meeting room at the Bedford Road Firehouse. The next and last one is 7-9 p.m. Jan. 31.

The commissioners explain the difference between the fire district and the fire department on the New Castle Fire District No. 1 website.

In October, voters showed more support for the idea of land acquisition than they did for the expansion plan. The proposal to buy the property was rejected, but 302 voted "yes" and 420 voted "no" whereas the expansion plan was overwhelmingly defeated, with 632 voting "no" to 105 "yes" votes. Many were furious about the whole process, from the short amount of time given to understand the propositions to the 3-hour voting window.

• Letter to the Editor: Proposed Firehouse Expansion is Costly, Unneeded
• Letter to the Editor: Accurate Chappaqua Fire Department Statistics

The issues led to a contested election for Fire Commissioner, with accusations of anonymous threats against one would-be candidate and the election of a write-in candidate — though the turnout was much lower to pick someone to lead the fire district than it was to reject the construction of a new firehouse.

• Write-in Candidate Enters Fire Commissioner Race in New Castle
• Outsider Wins New Castle Fire Commissioner Election

SEE ALSO:

• New Castle Voters Reject Fire District Expansion Plans
• New Castle Fire Commissioners Seek $15M Chappaqua Firehouse Expansion

Patch file photo