New Castle Fire Commissioners Seek to Buy Land

CHAPPAQUA, NY — Three months after its plan to buy land and build a new $15 million firehouse was resoundingly defeated by voters, the Board of Fire Commissioners for New Castle Fire District No. 1 has set the date for another two-question referendum.

This one 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. The extended voting hours are due to residents' fury over the three-hour voting window Oct. 25.

Also, the board will hold several information sessions on the proposals, scheduled at various times of day to accommodate residents. They'll be held at 491 King St., in the first floor meeting room at the Bedford Road Firehouse:

• 3-5 p.m. Jan. 14
• 7-9 p.m. Jan. 18
• 10 a.m. - noon Jan. 21
• 7-9 p.m. Jan. 23
• 7-9 p.m. Jan. 31

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 town residents in the fall were furious about the whole process, from the short amount of time given to understand the propositions to the short 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

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

SEE ALSO:

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

Patch file photo