A New Fire Station for Newbury
The Current Station
The Current Station ¡ Lacks adequate floor space for even our current equipment. ¡ Has inadequate headroom and door size for current firefighting equipment. ¡ Does not protect firefighters from hazardous substances and vehicle exhaust . ¡ Requires that fire trucks be “stacked” . Fire trucks near the doors must be moved before rear trucks can respond. ¡ Requires maneuvering and backing up on NH Rt. 103 in a potentially dangerous manner. ¡ Places fire personnel and equipment within inches of each other in a dangerous arrangement.
Call Volume
Recent History
Recent History New fire station bond vote @ March 2019 town meeting garners 62% ¡ approval, falling shy of 2/3 required by just 16 votes Due to 3 failed attempts over 5 years to obtain funding for a new fire station, ¡ Selectboard forms Safety Services Building Committee in April 2019 Committee, Chaired by Bruce Healey, consists of 11 voting members , 3 Ex- ¡ o ffi cio members (Town Administrator, Fire Chief & Police Chief) and Recording Secretary
Recent History ¡ The primary purpose of the SSB Committee is to provide the Selectboard with the committee’s best assessment of ALL the various issues concerned with constructing a new Fire Department building and whether there are possible solutions the Selectboard needs to consider for EACH issue raised by the committee ¡ Committee meets 8 times publicly , subcommittee(s) meet separately a few times, and a Public Input meeting is held over the course of 4 months ¡ Public Opinion Poll results from the 6/29/2019 Public Input meeting indicate 82% of respondents “Believe the town needs a new Fire Station” and 77% believe “Town Center is best location for a new Fire Station.”
Final Report
Final Report Final report (37 pages) dated July 22, 2019 is provided to the Selectboard , and contains 9 recommendations; highlights include: ¡ Committee unanimously recommends keeping Fire Station in geographic center of town , near Rt. 103 and Rt. 103A intersection ¡ After review of all properties in the area, Committee overwhelmingly recommends placing new Fire Station on Bald Sunapee/Camacho property ¡ Committee unanimously recommends that the current Safety Services building and site are unsuitable for fire station ¡ Committee unanimously recommends after the Fire Department relocates to a new facility that the current Safety Services building be renovated for Police Dept. and other municipal use ;
Final Report ¡ Committee unanimously recommends that the Selectboard contract a design professional to re-evaluate the Bald Sunapee/Camacho property for placement of new fire station building without the constraints of leaving land open for a future police station. Removing this land-use constraint potentially allows for a building design with drive-through bays and the potential for a lower total cost than previous plan. ¡ Selectboard supports the recommendations of the SSB Committee and contracts with design architect, civil engineer and construction manager to re- evaluate design solution for new Fire Station on Bald Sunapee/Camacho property
The New Design
Fitting Into The Town Center
Addressing The Needs
Addressing The Needs ¡ Provides space for present and future equipment. ¡ Has adequate headroom and door sizes for todays fire trucks. ¡ Protects firefighters from hazardous substances and vehicle exhaust. ¡ Eliminates truck “stacking”. ¡ Provides adequate maneuvering space o ff of Route 103.
Addressing The Needs ¡ Provides a flow through Gear Room separate from the Apparatus Bays. ¡ Is protected throughout by an automatic sprinkler system as required by NH law. ¡ Provides a pressurized wall fire hydrant that can serve the entire Town Center. ¡ Has an adequately sized Training Room that also serves as an Emergency Operations Center .
New Revised Design Concept
New Revised Design Concept ¡ 3 Bay Drive-thru Fire Station in lieu of 5 Single Bay Station ¡ More flexible, e ffi cient and compact plan - Square footage and Cubic footage of station are significantly reduced ¡ Separate parking lot for playground is included in this plan; last year’s plan did not include this. ¡ Cost is reduced - New proposed plan will cost $3,750,000 ; previous plan would cost $4,150,000 not including playground parking lot.
New Revised Design Concept ¡ Cost is reduced - tax impact of bond on home in Newbury in 2021 is anticipated to be $.31/$1000 of assessed value versus March 2019 estimate of $.37/$1000 . Cost to owner of median priced home is $76/year. ¡ Fire Department vote held on December 17, 2019 gains UNANIMOUS approval of new plan.
The 2020 Newbury Fire Station Solution Responds To Community Feedback While Still Meeting The Town Of Newbury’s Fire & EMS Service Needs For Decades To Come. Thank You!
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