After 30 years, Bedford tries again for a new fire station
Although Bedford has prioritized building a second fire station for more than 30 years, voters have slid the idea to the back burner to put out more pressing financial needs. This year, Hunter said he hopes voters see the value of passing a scaled-down, $8.9 million project that would cut his department's response time in half to a part of the town that averages 29% of emergency calls.
At a public hearing last week, town councilors unanimously voted to put the project on the ballot for the Feb. 3 deliberative session and March 11 election. The board also recommended passing Warrant Article 3 to fund the project, 6-1.
"The calls that might keep the fire chief up at night would be considered target hazards, and I would consider one of our target hazards to be multi-family, multi-level residences," Hunter said. "Many of them have 36 units a piece, and we have limited labor resources. So, yes, a quicker response time equals life-saving measures."
Last year, voters rejected a $36.5 million combined police and fire complex. With only 38% of voters voting for it, the proposal fell about 850 votes shy of the required 60%. This year, Bedford officials are asking voters to approve bonding $8.2 million and using $700,000 the town already has in a capital reserve fund for the building.
The estimated tax impact of the project is about 17 cents per $1,000 of assessed home value in 2026, or a little more than $100 per year for the owner of a house assessed at $600,000 until the bond would be paid off in 2035.
If approved, the new station would be built at 300 South River Road, an area separated from most of the town by the F.E. Everett Turnpike and sandwiched next to the Merrimack River, making access difficult because of the heavy traffic in the area and zero secondary roads leading to that part of South River Road.
"This proposal was put together with a lot of thought," said Jeanne Walker, Bedford's assistant town manager and director of strategic initiatives. "It's right-sized for what we need, and it is being brought back to the voters because it is what we need. We need some additional deployment area from that part of town. We're getting large volumes of calls. We've got long-care facilities, health care facilities, all of that in the area and there's a lot of call volume."
That area is home to elderly living developments, apartment complexes, industrial businesses, warehouses and athletic facilities. And the state is already proposing an estimated $26.7 million overhaul of the road, which is also known as Route 3.
Walker and Hunter said better response times are often the difference between life and death for residents in the densely populated area.
"It's also where a lot of our future development is," Town Councilor Kathleen Bemis said. "If you look at what's coming before the Planning Board, the housing complexes, the apartment complexes that are being built are in that area. It meets that need, as well as the businesses and the employers who are taxpayers to Bedford, we need to address the needs of everybody."
Since Bedford's Safety Complex was built in 1994, the town's population has ballooned by 90%, and calls have increased by 219%. Every town of comparable population in New Hampshire has multiple stations. Bedford still has one station that covers nearly 33 square miles.
Londonderry, Merrimack, Hudson and Keene are all similar to Bedford in population and square miles. Londonderry and Hudson have three fire stations. Merrimack and Keene have two each.
Hunter said the new fire station would meet the community's needs for at least the next 30 years.
Bedford's town deliberative session is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Feb. 3 in the Bedford High School auditorium. Voting on ballot measures and town/school elections is March 11.
dpierce@unionleader.com
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