Voters Say No to Fire Station

Residents in the Brewster-Southeast Joint Fire District have rejected a $2.8 million referendum to construct a new fire substation on Milltown Road. In voting Tuesday, 415 residents said no, while 247 residents voted in favor.

Fire district secretary Richard Hiss thanked the community for taking the time to vote: “The public has said ‘no,’ but the problem remains: Due to the heavy traffic on Route 22 our firefighters are finding it more and more difficult to respond in a timely manner from both the department’s main station in the village and the Route 312 substation. There is also a lack of a water source in the Milltown area and the new facility had called for a 20,000-gallon underground water storage tank.”

The property on Milltown Road was donated to the fire department at a savings of some $400,000.

The proposed new 4,850-square-foot, four-bay facility was designed to resemble a barn in order to be consistent with the character of the Milltown section of Southeast. Fire officials said construction of a substation would also have decreased homeowner insurance rates for residents in the area.

Those opposed to the erection of a new firehouse expressed concern that emergency-bound fire apparatus would pose a hazard on the narrow and winding area roads. Others said a new fire station would open the area for future development of single family housing.