News
New Castle Fire District Asked About Finances for Expansion Project
Volunteer firefighters confronted the New Castle Fire Board last week, expressing their frustrations and demanding to know the status of the district’s $15.2 million fire station expansion and modernization project.
About 25 members of the Chappaqua Fire Department packed the firehouse’s conference room Monday to also voice objections about the commissioners’ lack of communication regarding the project and what was seen as secrecy about the district’s finances.
Commissioners were set to vote to accept the project proposals at their July 8 meeting, but after about two hours, the vote was postponed until this week.
New Castle Fire District No. 1 has until the end of this week to formally accept bids for the project. If it misses the deadline for the public bidding process, the district must start that process over again, although the board was expected to accept the bids at its July 15 meeting.
Commissioners were warned by the project management team that waiting would likely result in higher costs.
Last year, voters approved a $15.2 million referendum to modernize and expand the fire station at 491 King St. in Chappaqua, which was built in 1954 and expanded to its current 17,000-square-foot footprint in 1979. Because the current fire station is too small to accommodate modern fire apparatus, the plan calls for a 13,000-square-foot addition with three new, larger bays.
Ahead of the April 2023 vote, commissioners decided to contain costs by postponing full construction of the second floor, which was estimated to cost an additional $1.95 million, according to construction manager Kevin Sawyer of Triton Construction Management, who attended last week’s meeting.
Fire Chief Paul Eiden urged the council not to compromise the project, which was also designed to protect the 60 volunteer firefighters from dangerous carcinogens typically released during a fire or from fumes emitted during a serious car accident. Currently, a very small washing machine that takes two cycles to fully decontaminate equipment is used after a fire. If a firefighter’s equipment cannot be fully decontaminated, there is a risk of carrying traces of the hazardous substances home.
“You understand where the members are coming from,” Eiden told the board. “We want to make sure that what is completed in two years, or however long it takes, is a complete structure that has all the health, wellness and safety features for the members.”
Eiden reminded the board that there are already members of the department suffering from cancer and that it was critical to prevent more of them from getting sick.
“Anything we can do to prevent this from happening to anyone else in the future should be our number one priority,” he said.
Concerns raised last week about how the district managed its finances reflected a growing distrust between firefighters and the board.
Chairman Dwight Smith attempted to allay those concerns, explaining that the district had sufficient funds to cover the cost of the project. In late May, commissioners revealed that the project was about $500,000 over budget.
“We have more cash available to us,” Smith said. “We have several million dollars and $1.5 million internally and in our capital reserves. We have about the same amount in capital reserves for trucks. And that’s not all of our accounts.”
Smith noted that a recent conference call with the fire district’s attorney, the attorney representing the district for the project and its financial advisors confirmed that cash on hand in the district’s accounts could be available to help pay for the project. Access to those additional funds, however, would be subject to a permissive referendum by district residents, whereby a valid petition submitted with a required number of signatures would trigger a vote.
“We can use that money for the project, including the surplus we found,” Smith said.
But Commissioner Nancy Zezze said she had not seen any bank statements since February.
“I can’t imagine that these bills have grown to more than a million dollars,” she said. “I don’t think there’s any money available to finish the first and second floors.”
Zezze said she was concerned that the money would be taken from various capital reserves, which are earmarked for other expenses.
“It’s not fair to say that we have the money to cover the costs and expenses needed to build the second floor,” Zezze said.
Smith said because the district only has a part-time treasurer, it is difficult to access up-to-date financial records.
At an earlier meeting, Smith had said the district owned a property used to store department equipment that would be put up for sale. But Lynn Weinig, the district’s special counsel, said the department could not consider proceeds from the potential sale of the property because the timeline for securing a buyer and completing the sale was unknown.
Commissioners had previously discussed selling the former Senter Street fire station, which houses an antique fire truck, and other district properties.
Eyebrows were raised after Sawyer previously commented that the lowest-bidding contractor would not be his first choice, an issue Eiden also raised.
“There have been complaints from people who have worked with this contractor in the past,” Eiden said. “Is that reason enough to spend $50,000 more and go with the next highest bidder so we can have that level of comfort?”
Sawyer said that because the new fire station was a public project, the commissioners had to abide by general city law, which required hiring the lowest responsible bidder.
“They’re not the best or the worst, and we’ve worked with them before with fire stations,” Sawyer said of the contractor. “We checked their references, they provided a statement of qualification, they checked to see if there were any pending lawsuits or issues associated with any public works projects, and they had none of those. We’re very limited in saying they’re an unresponsive bidder.”
Sawyer assured firefighters that Triton’s job was to oversee and manage the project.
“We will have a representative on site every day while the work is being done,” he said.
Despite the tension, Eiden said late last week that last week’s meeting ended on a positive note.
“Several members of the department with business experience will be coming back with suggestions on how to utilize current funding the district may have to finish the second floor and to ensure that funds do not impede the ability to replace fire apparatus,” Eiden said.
“In the last 48 hours, communication with the board has improved dramatically,” he added. “I am cautiously optimistic.”
The July 15 Board of Commissioners meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the King Street Fire Station.
