Progress made on fire station

Latest plans call for scaled back $8.75M facility

The latest design plans for a new two-story fire station to replace the old outdated one call for a scaled back $8.75 million facility, according to outgoing Mayor Tom Gifford.

“We got a layout we think people will like and it’s sufficient for the fire department to use and somewhat smaller than originally hoped for, therefore cheaper, so we’re hoping we struck a happy medium,” Gifford said during an interview Friday about the first of three public forums the village held Thursday night. “It is a small lot to put anything on so we’re trying to make the most of the village parking lot and have a fire station there too.”

That lot Gifford is referring to is the current municipal lot on Mohawk Avenue next to a paint store, two doors down from the current fire station.

Gifford, a volunteer firefighter, said the construction of a 13,970square foot fire station calls for 41 parking spaces “which is still a lot of parking, more than they use most of the times.”

Scotia Fire Chief David Wood did not return an email Friday seeking comment but the mayor said Wood is on board with the new fire station design.

The other less controversial part of the proposed project on that site calls for converting the outdated Village Hall into a municipal complex that would house the police department as well as court and administrative functions at a cost of $5 million.

The existing Scotia fire station is so cramped that vehicles are parked close to the walls in order to fit the two pumper trucks and a ladder and rescue truck while the fire chief ’s vehicle and the fire department’s pickup truck have to be parked outside.

A bond referendum vote on the roughly $13.8 million project is slated for noon to 9 p.m. June 7 at Village Hill.

If it passes, property taxes in Scotia for a home assessed at $100,000 would jump $193 a year over the life of the 24- to 26-year life of the bond.