St. James Residents Vote 'No' On $12 Million Bond For New Fire Department Station

Update:

ST. JAMES, NY - The votes are in -- St. James residents voted against a $12.25 million bond to build a new fire department headquarters on Tuesday night.

The bond was defeated with 775 "no" votes compared to 459 "yes" votes.

"On behalf of the entire St. James Fire District, we would like to thank those community members who came out to vote today in our bond election," the St. James Fire District Board of Commissioners wrote in a statement. "As commissioners, we will now regroup and begin discussions of what our next steps might be."

The proposal was to demolish the current Jefferson Avenue station and build a new 22,000-square-foot headquarters in its place.

The bond funding would have raised the fire district property tax by about 37 percent.

"We will continue to keep the community informed throughout the process. As always, we will continue to respond to all emergencies in the quickest manner possible, as it is our duty and privilege to protect the residents of St. James," the commissioners wrote in a statement.

Original story:

ST. JAMES, NY - Residents within the St. James Fire District will be voting in a special election on Tuesday to decide on a $12.25 million plan to build a new fire department headquarters.

The vote will take place between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. at the station on 221 Jefferson Avenue except for residents in Election District 79 who will vote at Fairfield Condos off Moriches Road.

Click here to check which district you are in.

In a letter to the editor, the district commissioners stated that the two firehouses have "become a safety issue for both firefighters and residents" because of the layout problems that interfere with the department’s response to emergency calls.

Under the proposal for the new firehouse, the existing Jefferson Avenue station would be demolished and a new, larger, 22,000-square-foot headquarters would be built in its place.

The project’s bond funding would raise the fire district property tax rate by about 37 percent, to $145.44 per $1,000 of assessed value.