Fire Station Study Gets Go-Ahead from Council

During Monday night’s meeting, the Middletown Town Council approved a resolution awarding a $17,000 contract to a planning consultant who will look at transportation and site modeling. In giving background on the contract, Town Administrator Shawn Brown described it as “an important part of the planning” that the town must do to address space and safety concerns at the current fire station location.

Brown described several elements that must be addressed, including the response time policy for the Town of Middletown, and the components that make up the department’s reflex time—dispatch, drive, access from vehicle, and starting to fight the fire.  The consultant for the contract is VHB/Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, an urban planning firm that recently completed a West Main Road redevelopment study for the town.

Brown noted there have been discussions since the 1990s about whether to build a new station or renovate the existing one, located on Wyatt Road, and the town had even considered building a combined police and fire station, but ultimately decided to address the two separately. A new has already been built, on Valley Road.

The ability to reach all parts of town quickly from the Wyatt Road facility, plus new developments on West Main Road that are expected in future years are  among the many concerns that prompt a renewed look at the fire station.

Councilor Ed Silveira described the importance of the fire station study: “This is a top priority. When that building was built probably 50 years ago, we did not have multistory hotels, large restaurants, large banking facilities, and anywhere near the commercial development we have today.”

The Town Administrator estimated the study would take approximately three to four months, once the consultant had received input from the town regarding policy for what an acceptable Fire Department response time should be—a calculation that is expected to include industry standards as well as factors unique to Middletown’s layout.

Also during Monday night’s meeting:

• Town Council approved the establishment of a Park Steward program, a volunteer program that the Open Space & Fields Committee has developed where volunteers would adopt responsibilities for parks throughout town.
• Town Council approved a resolution requesting the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority “abandon any proposed toll increases for the Newport Pell Bridge, other than for its own maintenance and support.” Councilor Bruce Long noted: “The cost of operating the bridge comes from user fees….however users of the Pell Bridge are also paying 100% of the upkeep of the Mount Hope Bridge.”

In addition, during the meeting’s Public Forum, Middletown resident Paul Mankofsky criticized the town’s leadership on budget issues. “Last year this council failed to manage and lead the local bureaucracy and that resulted in pretty close to a 3 % tax increase, a decrease in the value of our homes, and continued decline in services,” Mankofsky said. For the next budget process, he asked Town Council to “direct the Town Administrator and School Superintendent to submit a budget with at least a 15% reduction from last year’s budget,” and he urged the Council to push back on budget items that represent requirements from the state, among other suggestions. (Note: A public forum is on the agenda for every Town Council meeting, and provides an opportunity for a citizen to address the Council on a topic of the citizen’s own choosing, as long as the topic is of concern to the town, the citizen doesn't speak longer than 5 minutes, and the citizen notifies the Council Clerk before the meeting starts.)