Pine Island fire district residents vote Tuesday on $4 million firehouse bond

Pine Island — Residents within the Pine Island Fire District will go to the polls Tuesday to decide on a $4 million bond to finance a new firehouse on County Route 1. What this means financially to the approximately 600 residential homeowners as well as in the district is an increase in their taxes of about $3 per $1,000 of assessed value, according to George Haas, one of five commissioners for the district. A home assessed at $30,000 will pay an increase of $90 per year. A home assessed at $75,000 will pay an additional $225 per year. Hass, a county fire investigator and a first-year fire commissioner in Pine Island, said this project has been in the works for nearly a dozen years. The plan has evolved over the years and now, he said, the need is definitely here. “The current firehouse is over 50 years old and has several OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Agency) violations,” said Haas, who is not a volunteer firefighter with the Pine Island district but a 27-year member of the Port Jervis volunteer department. “It is not handicap accessible and is constructed with cinder blocks, which are no longer used.” In addition, he said the building is too small to house the seven vehicles owned by the district, which now operates out of two buildings — one in Amity and one on Route 1. If the bond is approved, the building on Route 1 would be sold and the funds would be used to pay down the bond, Haas said. The Amity building is rented. The fire district purchased the land directly across from the Route 1 building in 2003. It was paid for completely in 2006. Approving the bond would allow the district to borrow up to $4 million. Haas said he anticipates the cost to actually be less than that. The new building, which has been conceptually drawn, would have six bays for equipment, including two drive-through bays which would house four vehicles. Three offices, a records storage area, a kitchen, and a community meeting room which would hold up to 100 people are included in the proposed building. If the district gets a positive vote, they will be applying to the United States Department of Agriculture for a low-interest loan by April 1. Because the building is located in an agricultural district, Haas said, the fire department is eligible for a USDA loan, which should be around 4 percent. The department has also looked into grants, he said, which are reimbursement grants. “Most of the grants are being applied for after the purchase,” he said. “We would get reimbursed for certain items. We constantly have people looking for grants.” The vote will take place at the Pulaski Firehouse, 684 County Route 1 in Pine Island, on Tuesday, March 25, from 6-9 p.m. All registered voters are eligible to cast their ballots.