Firehouse Expansion Hearing

Delayed For Talks

By Andrew Gorosko

Lawyers for the Newtown Hook and Ladder Volunteer Fire Company and for the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers plan to discuss concerns that the managers have about the fire company’s proposal to expand its firehouse, which is situated behind Edmond Town Hall at 45 Main Street.

 The Borough Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) was just about to start a public hearing on March 19 on the fire company’s request for a zoning variance for the project, when fire company’s lawyer requested that the hearing be postponed for three weeks to allow him to discuss the matter with the managers’ lawyer.

The borough ZBA granted that request, continuing the public hearing until April 9.

Attorney Robert Accomando represents the fire company. The town hall managers are represented by attorney John Fallon. Attorney Donald Mitchell represents the zoning agency.

Borough ZBA Chairman John Madzula recused himself from participating in the fire company’s application for a zoning variance. Mr Madzula, who is an architect, said that he has provided professional services for the fire company, and consequently should not participate in the application. Mr Madzula then left the compact borough meeting room in Town Hall South.

Janet Woycik, who is the borough ZBA’s vice chairman, then assumed the panel’s leadership for its consideration of the fire company’s application.

The night meeting was well attended for a borough ZBA session, with about 30 people filling the small room.

Main Street residents have expressed concerns about the traffic effect that an expanded firehouse would have on their congested neighborhood.

The firehouse is situated in a R-1 Residential zone. The fire company is seeking a zoning variance to construct a firehouse expansion that would be closer to a property boundary line than the borough zoning regulations would allow.

Mr Fallon declined to comment on the Board of Managers’ specific concerns about the firehouse expansion proposal, saying that he would make his points on the matter on April 9 when the borough ZBA public hearing on the application reconvenes.

Edgar Beers, chairman of the Board of Managers, could not be reached for comment on the morning of March 20.

In a January 30 letter to The Bee, David E. Brown, who is a member of the Board of Managers, raised issues about the proposed firehouse expansion. Mr Brown questioned whether the fire company has the legal right to use the land where it would expand the firehouse. Mr Brown also wrote that increased traffic congestion in the area has made the location an inappropriate place for a firehouse expansion, suggesting that the fire company find another place for a new firehouse.

Mr Accomando said March 20 that he hopes that the town hall managers and the fire company can resolve their differences over the firehouse expansion proposal.

Concerns

The managers, who operate Edmond Town Hall, apparently are concerned that an expanded firehouse would somehow interfere with the current or future operation of that building. The managers plan to construct an external elevator shaft for handicapped access on the northern side of town hall. 

 The town hall and firehouse share a common parking lot. The firehouse, which faces southward, is situated on the northern side of the lot. The town hall, which faces eastward, is on the eastern side of the lot. There is a large area is front of the firehouse where parking is prohibited to keep that area clear for the exit and entry of fire trucks.

The town hall is a heavily used building. The building is the seat of local government, contains a movie theater, holds a large gymnasium, and contains a large function room, with a stage. The building functions as the town’s civic center.  

The firehouse’s proximity to town hall, and the fire trucks’ use of common driveways there, has posed a local public safety issue for years.

Talks

After the Borough ZBA continued the public hearing on the fire company’s zoning variance request, Mr Fallon met with members of the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers to discuss their concerns. Mr Accomando met with fire company representatives to discuss their viewpoint.

If the fire company receives a zoning variance from the panel, it would then need an approval from the Borough Zoning Commission for its firehouse expansion project.

The $250,000 project would take about six months to complete, after construction starts.

In the project, the fire company would demolish an existing small truck bay on the eastern side of the firehouse. That bay now houses the fire company’s rescue truck. Three garage bays would then be built on the eastern side of the firehouse to house three fire trucks. The brick expansion will measure approximately 55 feet wide, 50 feet deep, and 20 feet tall. An enclosed area would be constructed at the center of the southern face of the firehouse, which would house a display of antique fire apparatus.

The firehouse expansion project would allow the fire company to keep all five of its fire trucks on the middle level of the tri-level building. The company has three fire engines, one ladder truck, and one rescue truck.

A maze of steel supports has been in place within the firehouse for the past several years to structurally reinforce the building. After the expansion project is complete and the structure is fortified, the fire company would remove those steel supports and reclaim the interior space that the supports have occupied.

Newtown Hook and Ladder also has a firehouse at Fairfield Hills.