Dec. 15--EAST SANDWICH -- A Sandwich firefighter is apparently the first to publicly demonstrate his opposition to a proposed $30 million public safety complex with a sign in his front yard.
"That sign has nothing to with me as a firefighter," Andrew Davison said Friday. "That's got to do with me being a taxpayer."
Davison owes $37,193 as of Friday in back taxes and interest dating back to fiscal 2011, according to records provided by the tax collector's office.
The sign, which urges a no vote on the complex, is posted outside his house on Quaker Meetinghouse Road across from Sandwich High School, where a $3 million substation for the fire department would be built as part of the overall proposal.
No vote is scheduled on the project, but town officials have been on a public information blitz, holding forums and open houses to promote the need for a new police and fire complex at the intersection of Quaker Meetinghouse and Cotuit roads.
Fire Chief George Russell could not be reached for comment Friday.
"It's a freedom of speech thing, the way we look at it," Town Manager George "Bud" Dunham said. Town officials did ask the building inspector to look at the size of the sign, which is similar to the vinyl banners hung at some stores advertising specials, but determined that it's legal because it is mounted on a trailer with wheels, Dunham said.
"It's just my political view," said Davison, also a co-owner of Cape Cod BioFuels. "It's no different than having a political sign in front of my house for a candidate."
Dunham said he's confident that the majority of the town's firefighters and police officers support the project.
The police and main fire stations are located on Route 6A in a flood zone and were built at a time when the town was much smaller. The fire station in particular has substandard living quarters, Russell has said.
The project will ultimately need approval by town meeting and a townwide vote to increase property taxes through a Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion.
Town leaders say they will seek a 25-year bond for the project. The owner of a $354,400 home, the town's average, will initially pay $221 more in taxes per year. That will drop to $167 per year at the halfway mark and to $113 in the final year.
Davison said the tax impact is too great.
Copyright 2012 - Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.
