St. James Fire District To Hold Vote On Sale Of Firehouse

ST. JAMES, NY - St. James will have the chance to vote on the sale of the Route 25A firehouse next month.

On May 9, the Board of Commissioners of the St. James Fire District voted to move forward with a public referendum to sell the Route 25A Firehouse to the St. James Fire Department.

In 2013, the St. James Fire District purchased the Route 25A firehouse from the fire department in order to reduce expenditures since the fire district had been paying rent to the department.

As the district’s contract from the original sale stipulates, and has been upheld by the New York State Supreme Court and Attorney General, the department has the right of first refusal should the district choose to sell the building.

As a result, the district has had ongoing discussions with the members of that department and its members have voted to approve to engage in the sale process.

To complete the sale, it must now be put to a community vote which will be held on June 19 from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Jefferson Avenue Firehouse on 221 Jefferson Avenue.

If voters approve the sale of the firehouse to the fire department, there will be no tax impact to the community.

The St. James Fire District will host a community forum for residents within the district on Wednesday, May 30 at 7 p.m. at Smithtown East High School on 10 School Street.

During the meeting, fire district commissioners and members of the fire department will present information about the sale, address the department’s future plans for the building and answer any questions regarding the referendum.

“Given the current state of the building and the fire district’s needs, maintaining ownership of this property is no longer a fiscally prudent option,” Edward Springer, commissioner said. “Selling it back to the department would carry a number of benefits: the department, as they are under different laws and regulations than the fire district, would be able to expedite repairs and improvements to the facility, through use of its budget as well as private donations/grants – something that the district is prohibited from doing.”

What do you think? Should the firehouse be sold back to the fire department? Let us know in the comments below.

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