- By Dan Veaner
- News
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Ststion 5 is too small for modern fire equipment and Village needs
Access to the Village site is easy and direct, allowing the Fire Department to respond quickly to alarms. Mr. O'Neill likes the location, in part, because it would help to create a "village services complex" in one central location. But Planning Board Chairman Ned Hickey raised concerns that it would bring extra noise to a quiet residential neighborhood.
The board discussed the possibility of purchasing land adjacent to the current building in order to enlarge the plot enough to facilitate a new station. The Fire District has said it would need to erect a temporary structure at a price tag of $500,000 if the current lot on Oakcrest Road were used. Mr. Hickey noted that Station 5 is rarely used anyway and questioned the need for a temporary building.
At their Tuesday (12/06) meeting District Commissioners disagreed, saying the station is frequently used by fire responders and by Bangs Ambulance. In fact it had been used by responders just that day. But they said it is a moot point, because if they built on Oakcrest they would build across the street where they own ten acres of land. They pointed out that the reason the Village offered the land near the Village barn is that it does not want a fire station in the residential area on Oakcrest.
That is a problem with both locations, and the Fire District doesn't like the Warren Road alternative that some have proposed, because it would add to the response time by taking the fire house away from the area where the majority of alarms initiate, including the Pyramid Mall. Fire District officials like the "village complex site" in theory, but it raises three questions that Mr. O'Neill said Village authorities must consider.
First, where would the Village barn be relocated? The structure, which must be replaced anyway because it is in bad shape, would have to be moved to make room for the new station and access to it. Second, the large water tank behind the Village office blocks access to the proposed stations's site. Mayor Hartill noted that it is scheduled to be removed by the time a new station could be built.
The third issue has to do with ownership of the property. The Fire District's attorney has advised them to steer clear of a $1 annual lease kind of arrangement, because it does not guarantee they can continue to occupy the site. They want some protection for the multi-million dollar project to insure they can continue to use the facility into the future regardless in changes in Village government.
The Fire District continues to work with Mr. Ross and Village officials to come up with a plan that will serve the emergency needs in the Village and satisfy taxpayers in the district, which includes the Town and Village of Lansing, who will foot the bill for the new fire house.
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