RUMFORD – Fire Chief John Woulfe and members of the Fire House Task Force plan to meet with town officials to explain the need for a new fire station.

And within a month or so, that plan will be presented to the public.

The change in plans, to make a case for constructing a new fire station to replace the circa 1925, downtown brick structure, came about because of action taken by selectmen Monday night to place an article on the town meeting warrant asking for $1.9 million to build the new facility.

“The longer we wait, the more the cost will go up, while we still have to improve our equipment,” said Woulfe.

He said last week that plans to ask for the funding may be delayed a year because of the current statewide discussions on tax reform that could affect the town’s ability to collect enough property tax to cover municipal expenses.

But Monday’s vote, on a motion by Selectman Eugene Boivin, changed all that.

Woulfe said he plans to meet with the engineer for the project, Enterprise Engineers of Freeport, and architect, Port City of Portland, within the next couple of weeks to fine-tune a plan that was designed last year.

From there, he will go before the selectmen in mid-April, then to the Finance Committee in late April to make a case for the project. Soon after, the Fire House Task Force will hold a pubic informational meeting.

Plans now are to present the funding question to residents at the June 7 town meeting. If approved, a bond for 15 to 25 years would likely be taken out to pay for the project, said Woulfe.

If not, then Woulfe said some major work will have to be done to the station to bring it up to current building codes.

A state fire department consultant, after working with the Fire House Task Force more than a year ago, recommended that a new station be built. The current one, although in good condition, is not large enough to house the increasingly larger firefighting apparatus being built, nor does it provide sufficient space for firefighter training. Because the station is located in the downtown area, turning and parking firetrucks is also difficult, according to the study.

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