LIVERMORE FALLS — Residents will decide Nov. 3 whether they want to have a one-bay fire substation built in East Livermore Village and pay for it for up to 20 years.
A petition signed by 110 registered voters was submitted to the town, and selectmen voted to put it on the ballot in September if legal counsel deemed the wording of the citizen-initiated warrant was legal. Counsel approved the wording, interim Town Manager Amanda Allen said Wednesday.
A public hearing on article will be held at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 20 at the Town Office. The polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 3. The voting venue is still pending. Allen, who is also the town clerk, has asked the Secretary of State if voting could be held this year at the Fire Station because of COVID-19 guidelines. She had not heard back as of Thursday.
Resident Sheila Scanlon sent a letter to all residents this week in regards to the proposal.
In September, Scanlon said most fires in town are in the mobile home park off Park Street/Route 133 and Leeds Road/Route 106 in East Livermore. There is no hydrant system in the area and the town Fire Station is several miles from the Pine Ridge Loop park.
The article calls for selectmen to secure a site and provide for construction of a substation for one firetruck within a mile of Park Street and Leeds Road. If passed, the article would also authorize selectmen to enter into a lease purchase or finance agreement for up to 20 years, with payments from taxes not to exceed $20,000 per year. Building maintenance would be budgeted under the buildings account or the Livermore Falls Fire Department.
The most recent fire in the park was Monday night when a mobile home at 160 Pine Ridge Loop was destroyed. The cause was not determined.
Voters at the annual town meeting in June 2018 agreed to explore the possibility of building a fire station in East Livermore. However, in a vote later that year residents rejected using up to $10,000 from surplus to study the feasibility of building a station on tax-acquired property on Route 106 in East Livermore, near the mobile home park. The study was estimated to cost $5,000 but the town manager at the time wanted to make sure there was enough.
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