Clinton officials say new fire station needed

Greg Stewart (center), a firefighter with the Clinton and Winslow fire departments, was joined Sunday by Ethan Bowers, 7, of Benton, and his sister, Emma Rhymes-Bowers, 14, of Clinton, as they learned about Fire Rescue Clinton during an open house. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

CLINTON — The Clinton Fire Station on Church Street is old, cramped and does not meet the needs of today’s firefighters and equipment, prompting the need for a new station.

That was the word Sunday from officials who answered questions Sunday at an open day at the station at 19 Church Street.

City voters are set to vote Nov. 5 on a referendum asking whether they want to borrow up to $1.9 million to fund a new fire station to be built on the site next to the city hall at 27 Baker St.

The money will add to the roughly $2 million the city received two years ago to build a new fire station as part of congressional spending, officials said.

“We need more space, we need more people, we need everything,” City Manager Daniel Swain said.

Swain spoke with Fire Chief Travis Leary and others inside the fire station Sunday. Outside, firefighters talked to residents on a sunny, 70-degree day while children played soccer on the quiet street.

Leary said the original fire station in the center of the property was built in the 1950s, and two bays to the right of the building and three to the left were added in 2003. Ambulances, a pickup truck and three fire trucks are in the bays, he said. At that time, the old station was renovated to provide a conference room, office, kitchen and living quarters.

“Essentially, two ambulances are double parked so there is no space between them,” Leary said. “Fire trucks, same thing. Trucks are getting larger and longer due to EMS standards, and a replacement pump tank will be approximately 36-37 feet long with a compartment length of only 40 feet. Even now, if the trucks are inside, they have to be turned sideways.”

The site on which the station is located is too small, with a thin strip of sidewalk on either side and a small area behind the station, Leary said.

“We can’t add,” he said. “If we could build an extension, we could get more space that way, but we just don’t own the land.”

Greg Stewart, a firefighter with the Clinton and Winslow fire departments, accompanies Mason Jerry, 12, of Skowhegan, as Jerry uses a fog nozzle Sunday to knock a bottle off a large traffic cone during an open house hosted by Clinton Fire Rescue. According to Stewart, the water pattern on the nozzle can be changed. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Two or three years ago, the city bought a building site next to the city hall where the new fire station will be built – on the left as you face the building.

The police station is located in the city administration.

“As the city manager, I would like to create a campus that would have a fire chief, a city manager and a police chief,” Swain said.

Clinton officials have been working on the fire station project for about four years, roughly as long as the city has had a building committee. Officials initially hoped to build a public safety building to house police and fire services, but when the city applied for a federal grant, Leary said only the fire station was approved.

Residents voted to allocate money to design a new fire station, which was completed by Fairfield-based Dirigo Engineering. At town meeting, the city also allocated more than $100,000 to build the station. Officials put the project out to bid and selected Blane Casey Contractors of Augusta as the contractor if voters approve the funding Nov. 5.

“It’s a good community and they’ve always been very supportive of the fire department,” Leary said. “I hope they continue this and see that we have a new station. I believe it is necessary to invest in your community, especially in public safety. Part of that was to build a building that would last us over 50 years so the city wouldn’t have to worry about that for a long time.”

The existing fire station is about 5,000 square feet, and the new station will be about 10,000 square feet, Leary said. The fire department employs about 25 full- and part-time firefighters and about a dozen per diem firefighters.

Becky Stewart, a firefighter with the Clinton Fire Department, helps 7-year-old Ethan Bowers of Skowhegan try on firefighting gear Sunday during an open house hosted by the Clinton Fire Rescue Department. Bowers and others at the open house examine fire and other rescue vehicles and operate the hose line. Stewart’s husband, Greg Stewart (left), is a firefighter with the Clinton and Winslow fire departments. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Leary and Swain said Casey’s estimate for the new station was $3.9 million, but the city hopes to lower the amount, perhaps to $3.7 million.

If voters approve borrowing the money, which the Clinton Board of Selectmen recommended, the process will begin immediately and ground will be broken as soon as weather permits next spring, said Leary, who is also Fairfield’s fire chief. and the Benton Fire and Rescue Department.

Voting is scheduled for 8:00-20:00 on November 5 at the city administration. Residents will be asked to vote in five other referendums, all by secret ballot.

Questions ask whether voters want:

• Raise and appropriate $62,906 for the code enforcement budget.

• Allow the on-premises sale and consumption of beer, wine and liquor by Maine-licensed establishments Monday through Saturday in the city.

• Allow the on-site sale and consumption of beer, wine and liquor by Maine-licensed establishments on Sunday in the city.

• Pass a city solar ordinance.

• Amend the city’s land use ordinance to revise the land use zoning map and expand the industrial-commercial zone located on the west side of Interstate 95 to include the city’s Lot 16 Tax Map 3.

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