NH Voters Nix New Fire Station for Third Time in Five Years

SWANZEY, NH—For the third time in five years, town officials have failed to win approval for a new fire station.

The ballot that went before voters Tuesday included a $3.95 million proposal to build a new station on town-owned land on Old Homestead Highway, with $3.5 million coming from a bond.

The measure had the support of 54.8 percent of voters — 478 in favor to 395 against. But it failed to reach the 60 percent threshold that was required due to the bond issue.

The new building would have replaced the cramped, aging facility in the basement of town hall that serves as Swanzey’s central fire station. Town officials have been saying for years that it’s not up to code and is too small to meet the fire department’s needs. Firefighter health was another consideration; the lockers are feet away from the trucks, and the room fills with exhaust when a vehicle starts up. The station also lacks a modern gear-cleaning system.

Town officials also sought bond issues in 2015 and 2016 that would have funded a new station, without success, but were optimistic this year after additional efforts to engage with the public.

“It’s extremely disappointing, because we tried to get the information out to the public with focus groups and whatever,” Selectman Kenneth P. Colby Jr. said Tuesday night. “And unfortunately, it’s just gonna get more expensive, because the cost of construction goes up every year.”

He said the selectboard has not yet met to discuss how to proceed. But he stressed that the issue won’t go away.

“We do need to move the fire station out of town hall,” he said. “There’s no question about that.”

Voters approved the $6,330,000 operating budget — which is down $123,935, or 1.9 percent, from the budget they approved last year — and the other spending measures on the warrant, including $525,000 in appropriations to various trust funds and capital reserve funds; updating the town’s tax maps and buying mapping software, pegged at $225,000; and replacing the Christian Hill Road Bridge and making improvements on the Cheshire and Ashuelot rail trails, with the N.H. Department of Transportation paying for 80 percent of both projects.

But they rejected a measure that would have allowed sports betting retail locations to operate in town. The article failed 499 to 366.

Also passing were a property tax break for businesses that build or expand their facilities, when judged to be economically beneficial to the town; waiving vehicle registration fees for people who were prisoners of war, survived Pearl Harbor or received Purple Hearts; two measures to expand the property tax credits available to veterans; and all five zoning amendments on the ballot.

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