Board of finance votes down funding for new $16 million firehouse

By Peter Marteka

Concerned about the price tag, location and the uncertainty of the town’s future ambulance service, the board of finance voted 3-2 against funding for the proposed new Co. 2 firehouse.

Debra H. Denette, Scott W. Jezek and Harvey W. Thomas voted against the funding with Chairman Maureen K. Goff and Eric L. Kolasinski in favor of the proposal. Member Joseph J. Corbett did not attend the meeting.

The meeting got off to a rocky start when Goff read the motion to approve funding for the $15,975,000 firehouse but failed to get anyone to move the motion. Goff moved it herself with Kolasinski seconding the motion so the board could discuss the funding.

Harvey said his concerns were with future renovations to East Haddam Fire Department Co.1 and Co. 3. He also called the proposal a “Taj Mahal” of firehouses. He also said what caused the “burr under his saddle” the most was the uncertain future of the East Haddam Ambulance Association and the town’s EMS and which one would provide the services to the town.

“I don’t personally see the need for all that administrative space,” he said. “Some of it could be shared. Everyone can’t be there all the time...My concern is the economics of providing as much office space as the plan suggests.

“I see no reason in God’s green earth that the taxpayers of East Haddam should be providing space for the East Haddam Ambulance/EMS operation. They can build their own garage, do their own damn thing. I wouldn’t vote for this unless that question has been resolved.”

Kolasinski said the firehouse was “definitely in need of replacement” and believes there’s a “better place for it.”

“We need to kick this to the citizens of town and let them make their decision,” he said. “I think what they’ve [Moodus Firehouse Building Committee] come up with is pretty reasonable. I’ll be honest, the price tag on it is sticker shock, but at the same time nothing...is cheap anymore.”

Denette was concerned with the location of the firehouse with no room for expansion.

“I think that’s very short-sighted in the long term,” she said, adding the Harris property is in the “dead center of town.”

“My role as a board of finance member is to look out for the interest of all of the town,” she said. “It’s finance. It’s not whether I think the property is right or not. It’s whether or not the town can afford it.”

Jezek said the town is already $29 million in debt and was worried about the potential repercussions from the upcoming real estate revaluation.

“I don’t think we can afford to pay for this project at this time in this location,” he said. “The burden for this isn’t going to fall on business or industry; it’s going to fall...on everyone else in town. There needs to be...a better way to figure out how to pay for this.

“I’ve got nothing but respect for the fire department,” he added. “But this is too much. It’s beyond the scope of what the citizens of the town of East Haddam can afford even though I think everyone in the room would like to have it...I don’t see how I could support something that’s going to fall on the burden of every homeowner in town.”

Some on the board were concerned about the present state of the firehouse and a possible contingency plan for what many have called an “unsafe building.”

“When you are sitting there in the bay and that wind starts blowing and that building starts rocking, it gets a little shady in there,” said Kolasinski, noting a roof came down during the winter at a Meriden fire department due to the weight of snow.

Harvey called on the building committee to do something to bring the price tag down.

“We don’t need the Taj Mahal of firehouses. Maybe a little so called value engineering would work...unless somebody sets a limit, you are going to get the Taj Mahal. So pick a number you think you can afford, send them off and let them re-do it.”

Building committee alternate member Brad Park took offense to the Taj Mahal comment.

“That’s not what this proposed fire department is,” he said. “What’s in the building is what the fire department needs to serve its purpose...It’s not a bunch of extras.”

Committee member Kevin Rutty said the proposal is the “bare-bones minimum” with “nice-to-haves" cut out of the plan. Goff was concerned with the continued health risks firefighters face without a state-of-the-art building. She also wasn’t keen on the idea of funding repairs to the current building.

“I’m not interested in spending hundreds of thousands fixing this building again...I don’t think it’s realistic to cut a third off the [$16 million] price...I don’t think we have the Taj Mahal...We are going to have to pay for this. The question is do we move forward now at today’s prices or do we move forward in nine months after we ask them to cut.”