New Castle Voters Reject Fire District Expansion Plans

CHAPPAQUA, NY — New Castle voters soundly defeated two proposals from the Commissioners of Fire District No. 1 to buy an adjoining property and double the size of the firehouse.

According to the Chappaqua Daily Voice, the expansion plan was overwhelmingly defeated, with 632 voting "no" to 105 "yes" votes. The proposal to buy the property found more favor but still was rejected, with 302 voting "yes" and 420 voting "no."

Voting took place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Tom Auchterlonie of the Daily Voice described a wait that at times exceeded an hour. Residents in line at 9 p.m. were allowed to vote and the counting process took two hours, he wrote.

Many town residents were furious about the whole process, from the short amount of time given to understand the propositions to the 3-hour voting window. The local League of Women Voters said they had offered to find more election inspectors so the election could be longer, but had been turned down.

The time frame was such, in fact, that town Trustee Jeremy Saland didn't vote. He posted on the New Castle Community Discussions Facebook page:

I am embarrassed to admit (and angered a bit as well) that I did not vote this evening. I share this because I, like many of you, have many commitments throughout the day. I was unable to get back to Chappaqua from work until shortly after 6 pm and then had to be at our Town Board meeting executive session at 6:30. We finished this evening at 10:30. I share this with you because I, along with other Town Board members, received some passionate complaints about the voting schedule and process this evening. Please know we all genuinely appreciate your concerns but we do not control the fire district voting procedures.
Whether or not you supported the expansion of the fire department and respect the men and women of the fire department (which we all do), you should have a reasonable time to vote. It is my hope this experience changes whatever is needed to allow for a greater time frame and more accommodating voting in the future. It seems inconceivable to me that there is not a mechanism to expand the 6-9 block.

There was also strong feeling among residents about what the Fire District was requesting, and a lot of questioning and misinformation about the fire department's activities and its future.

The Fire Commissioners asked voters to approve a $15 million expansion of the King Street firehouse, adding 16,500 square feet on the adjacent site of the old animal hospital.

There were two propositions on the ballot Oct. 25, the first asking voter approval to purchase, demolish and clean up contamination on the adjoining property at a cost of $2,674,644. The second proposition covered construction, priced at $12,703,335.

The fire commissioners said the expansion was necessary to bring the firehouse, built in 1954, up to modern standards, and to provide more space for equipment and training needs. Tight space constraints, physical building deficiencies, lack of ADA and OSHA compliance, inadequate training spaces, and other limitations have been concerns for decades, they said. The remodel would have provided for drive-through bays, so that the fire trucks would no longer have to back in.

New Castle Fire District No. 1 posted this to explain the difference between the fire district and the fire department:

The New Castle Fire District No. 1 is a political subdivision of the State. A Board of five Fire Commissioners governs the District. Residents of the Fire District elect Fire Commissioners. Each Commissioner is elected to a five-year term. Certain situations may occur where the Board can appoint an individual to fill a vacated position. Fire District Elections are held on the second Tuesday of December each year. One Commissioner is elected each year so that there will always be experienced Commissioners on the Board. The Fire District has a myriad of statutory responsibilities including the levying of taxes for the purpose of providing fire protection for the residents of the District. The Fire District budget is used to provide the Chappaqua Fire Department the funding necessary for equipment, apparatus, training, day-to-day operations, maintenance and repair of District facilities, amongst other specialty matters.

The Chappaqua Volunteer Fire Department is an Emergency Service whose primary responsibility is to provide fire protection, rescue, fire prevention education and mitigation of the effects of natural and man-made disasters. First and foremost members dedicate themselves to protect the lives and property of the citizens and visitors of the Fire District. Members of the Department are all Volunteer’s that serve the Community with great dedication and a professional level of Fire Services. More information about the Chappaqua Volunteer Fire Department can be found at their web site.

Additionally, the Chappaqua Volunteer Fire Department is comprised of three separate companies: Chappaqua Fire Patrol Company, Independent Fire Company, J.I.D. Bristol Engine Company

SEE ALSO:

• New Castle Fire Commissioners Seek $15M Chappaqua Firehouse Expansion
• Letter to the Editor: Proposed Firehouse Expansion is Costly, Unneeded
• Letter to the Editor: Accurate Chappaqua Fire Department Statistics

Image from Chappaqua Fire District No. 1 website