Police

Public meeting Tuesday on fire district bond; spring vote expected

WRFD1

A public meeting will be held Tuesday night to discuss a plan to borrow anywhere from $4 million to $6 million to improve facilities in the Wading River Fire District — most notably, an upgrade of its Hulse Landing Fire Station.

The meeting will be held at the department headquarters at 1503 North Country Rd. at 7 p.m. The district’s main building is one of the two buildings within the fire district seeking renovations and upgrades. The other is the secondary station on Hulse Landing Road.

The meeting will focus on the need for a building improvement project, details of the proposed plan to date, an overview of financial considerations and a draft timeline leading up to a potential vote on the bonds later this spring. It will conclude with a brief question and answer session.

At the last public meeting in June, it was announced that the project could cost anywhere from $4 to $6 million. Plans at the time included expanding the Hulse Landing building or tearing it down and constructing a new one.

In 2012, the fire district held a referendum asking residents if they wanted replace the facility for $4.75 million. This included demolishing the 4,500-square-foot building and replacing it with a new, 11,500-square-foot fire station. The bond failed with 126 voters in favor and 198 opposed. Because of this, plans in June were to make a smaller expansion, to 8,975 square-feet.

More information about the plans can be found on the Wading River Fire District’s Facebook page.

More meetings are expected before any vote, according to a spokesperson for the fire district.