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To the editor:
After months of planning and the continued gathering of information and documentation, the discussions of the proposed 2016-17 budget are winding down and will culminate with the 230-member Representative Town Meeting holding its annual budget vote on May 9 at Central Middle School.
As you may know, an integral part of this year’s proposed budget is the Town’s long-established plan to address higher than average Greenwich Fire Department response times to households in Northwest Greenwich. Response times in this area range from eight to 12 minutes as opposed to response times that range from four-and-a-half to just under seven minutes in other fire districts in town.
Life safety - the protection of all town residents and resources - always has been a central focus of my administration. The budget proposal to purchase land in Northwest Greenwich to build the joint Fire Station / Greenwich Emergency Medical Service (GEMS) facility does not come on a whim.
The need for expanding Greenwich’s firefighting capabilities has been well documented for years.
During the late 1990s, the Town moved forward with the establishment of the North Street Station (Northeast) and it came on line in 2000. This was the result of a Town-wide fire services study conducted by Buracker and Associates. This study also became the basis for moving forward with the rehabilitation of our existing fire stations and the plan for establishing the Northeast and Northwest stations.
In December 2000, the Fire Station Improvement Plan was initiated to assess the condition of all stations in Town. It resulted in the renovation of the Cos Cob station that was completed in October 2004; the 2010 completed renovation of Glenville, and the construction of the Central Fire Station and Administration Headquarters, that is on schedule for completion by the end of 2016. We also have plans to renovate both the Byram and the Sound Beach stations in the next five years. To that end, the 2016-2017 Budget includes funding to begin this process for the Byram Station.
The 2009 Plan of Conservation and Development includes Action Item 4.26 "Reinforce the neighborhood village concepts by....retaining fire stations, civic centers and religious institutions - all of which provide a sense of history and cultural place." The POCD also supports the need for a Northwest station through Action Item 4.31: "Funding for the new fire station on King Street should be provided."
Contrary to some criticism lobbed by pundits, there is a need and a resulting direct benefit to the residents of Northwest Greenwich. In addition to the thousands of homes in the Northwest District, there also are two private schools, three life-care facilities, and two houses of worship, one of which also provides day care services. The station also would be in close proximity to a major regional airport from which both incoming and outgoing flights regularly fly over the Town of Greenwich.
After years of effort, the Town has worked to identify parcels that would be suitable for a combined fire station and GEMS facility. The current location of GEMS Medic 4 at 1327 King Street was purchased more than a decade ago before engineering studies proved the site was unsuitable for a combined station.
The current proposal before the RTM has been vetted by and has the support of the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) that voted to finance the purchase of a 4.27 acre parcel from the Fairview Country Club at 1241 King Street for $2 million, as well as $500,000 for architectural and engineering plans. This parcel is much larger and able to accommodate a joint station for both Fire Station 9 and GEMS Station 4.
The proposed 2016-17 budget submitted by the BET – with the appropriations to begin funding the Northwest Fire /GEMS facility - to the RTM, is an affirmation of the due diligence and careful deliberations of several town departments and my administration.
We steadfastly stand in support of this proposed project as it is illustrative of the fiscal conservatism for which Greenwich is known. We are continuing the commitment to invest in our community – our human and material resources.
It is my hope that the RTM – the 230 members of this august body who were duly elected to represent the interests of all Greenwich residents - will follow the leads of the BET and the Board of Selectmen, and the Planning and Zoning Commission which approved the Municipal Improvement project status on Tuesday evening, and vote affirmatively to approve this project.
First Selectman Peter Tesei
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