The Fire Station Consolidation Committee began 2002 by going back to the drawing boards. To avoid eminent domain and displacing a taxpayer, we had previously recommended a Fire Station Headquarters on the Claflin Street municipal parking lot in back of Belmont Center and a sub-station on the municipal parking lot in Cushing Square. That recommendation was overwhelmingly opposed by the merchants and others because of the adverse effect on parking.
To meet the standards of response time and station overlap and because the railroad tracks are through the middle of town, it is imperative that we have a fire station located on each side of the tracks. Our previous study had shown that renovating the existing ancient stations was not cost effective and left us with three stations that we were unable to properly staff with the existing force and located in the wrong places.
Our first approach was to move the larger headquarters station out of the center area and we ultimately concluded that the smaller sub-station should be located on the Alexander Street parking lot. The remainder of the parking lot can be expanded and reconfigured, resulting in no loss of parking spaces for Belmont Center.
The question became where to locate the Fire Station Headquarters. Some suggested the site of the former Peter Fuller Dodge on Pleasant Street for not only a fire station, but a police station, commercial development and possible new train station. Succinctly, it did not work. The Pleasant Street site is long and narrow with a sewer easement down the middle and very costly. More importantly, it is literally walled-in by the railroad tracks, resulting in unacceptable response times and poor overlaps with other possible sites for the sub-station.
Next, we considered the site presently occupied by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Preliminary communications with the Veterans indicated their displeasure at being relocated. In addition, the site would need to be expanded by acquisition of the adjacent parking lot, as well as a portion of the tennis court in the rear. The transfer of the tennis court from parkland to Town use would require approval of Town Meeting and an act of the State Legislature. Finally, if the Veterans were to be persuaded to leave, there would be the additional expense and delay in providing them with a new facility.
We focused on the site of the former Volkswagen dealership on Trapelo Road. We were aware that the owner of this site was actively attempting to develop the site with a new commercial enterprise. We worked closely with the owners of the Volkswagen property to determine if the site, together with the acquisition of the smaller repair garage in front, could then accommodate both the commercial development and the Fire Station Headquarters. It appeared that it could, but would require a zone change.
The efforts to secure the zone change were met with significant opposition and the efforts to acquire the small repair garage have not been fruitful. Progress on the Volkswagen site, as of the end of 2002, has bogged down.
In these circumstances, the Committee focused on the nearby property across the street on Trapelo Road next to the Video Plus outlet and has determined that this site has sufficient land to accommodate the location of the headquarter fire station. The response and overlap times with a station in the Belmont Center area are acceptable and near optimum. Negotiations are underway with the representatives of the owners of this site as a viable alternative to the Volkswagen site for the location of the headquarter fire station.
At the close of 2002, the Committee hopes that the headquarter fire station location in the Trapelo Road area will be finalized and that this vital project with the building of these two stations can move forward by action at the Annual Town Meeting in April 2003.
Respectfully submitted,
Fire Station Consolidation Committee
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