Council Discusses Fate of Former Fire Station, Possible Dog Park in Wickford

It’s been almost 56 years since the Quidnessett Fire Station on North Quidnessett Road closed down, following a consolidation of the town’s fire department in 1956.  In the first meeting of 2012, discussion on the future of that building returned to the North Kingstown Town Council at the request of Council Member Chuck Brennan.

Since its closure, the station has been used by the Quidnessett Volunteer Firefighter Company, which still has a few members. Though the non-profit organization owns the building, they don’t pay the bills: the town does that. According to Town Manager Michael Embury, the town pays the utility bills and insures the building. Since 2009, the town has spent $8,232.21 on the building gas bill and an additional $823.53 for electric.

“Do we want to continue paying out of our budget to keep and insure this building?” said Brennan, who suggested fundraising by volunteer groups could help keep the building operational.

Though it has been closed as a firehouse for the better part of a century, the former station still serves as a community center for residents in the North Quidnessett area, according to John O’Brien of Narragansett Street.

“It’s not a firehouse anymore,” said O’Brien. “It’s a community center and we’d hate to lose it.”

A Dog Park for North Kingstown?

Whereas many residents have seen (), one North Kingstown resident sees something else – dog park.

Dan Morrison of Stone Gate Drive, who owns two dogs, spoke before the council, sharing his vision of a dog park on the former elementary school’s grounds.

“I’ve come to realize that, seeing Wickford Elementary School vacant for so long, there’s a great parcel of land that’s centrally located in town that would make a great dog park,” said Morrison, pointing to the school’s partially fenced-in property. Morrison added that the dog park may even help draw more activity into nearby Wickford Village.

Members of the council favored the idea, but the future of Wickford Elementary School may put a kink in the plan. Wickford Elementary School, which has been closed since 2005, and the Little Red Schoolhouse on School Street are set to be surveyed by DiPrete Engineering soon, with council members indicating that the two properties may be put on the market. . Voters did, however, approve a measure allowing the town to sell the building during that special election.

Though Morrison suggested using the grounds as an interim dog park, Council Member Charles Stamm and Town Manager Michael Embury fear it would interfere with youth sports organization that use the fields for practice.

Embury suggested that the council look into converting the former transfer station on Hamilton Allenton Road into a dog park.