SAUGUS — Town Meeting took a key step forward in the process of constructing a third fire station on the west side of town, approving Article 7 on the Special Town Meeting warrant Monday night. The article sought a $400,000 borrowing authorization to conduct a feasibility study for the station.
Talk of a third fire station in Saugus stretches back decades, but gained momentum in recent years with all five members of the Board of Selectmen calling it a major priority. The union representing the town’s fire department has also repeatedly lobbied for a new station. The vote of Town Meeting — a margin of 42-1 in favor, with only Precinct 6 member Jean Bartolo voting against — authorizes Town Manager Scott Crabtree to go forward with a study that would, among other things, identify a piece of land where the new station could go.
Precinct 9 member Robert Long motioned to hear Article 7 out of order. While Long said he supported the article, he expressed frustration with essentially five decades of inaction on the part of the town. Long cited a report produced in 1965 that called for the opening of a west-side fire station in 1970 as evidence.
“The reason I’m speaking tonight is because frankly, this has gone on and on and on forever,” he said. “I sometimes have the feeling that we talk a lot about it, but nothing is done about it.”
“Everybody campaigns on it, but nothing is done,” he added.
Crabtree explained that the study represents only the first step in the process. He said it would allow for the creation of a formal, detailed plan that town officials could present to the public to generate support for the proposal.
A study conducted by Municipal Resources, Inc. released last year identified the need for the new station, detailing delayed response times for emergency calls to areas of Saugus on the west side of Route 1. Crabtree cited that study on the floor of Town Meeting Monday evening, explaining that a new fire station would have to address that issue.
“The issue that we’re trying to alleviate is that we’re trying to alleviate locations in the town of Saugus that have higher response times,” Crabtree said. “Location is the most important part of this decision the public is going to make.”
Crabtree cautioned that a third fire station “will not happen, can not happen” without both a debt exclusion and an operational override. The $400,000 allocated for the feasibility study really represents just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the financial implications of a new station.
In addition to the cost of construction, the town would also have to fund manning the station, which includes overtime, vacation, and holiday costs alongside post-employment benefits. All of this would likely have to be accounted for in the town’s operating budget.
Crabtree failed to provide a specific timeline for when the study would begin or how long it would take, simply saying that he would like to see it get underway as soon as possible. The town has already had discussions with architects who do similar work, he said, and with the approval from Town Meeting the study could get underway quickly. Several Town Meeting members indicated they would like to see the issue of the third fire station appear on the ballot during the town’s election in November.
Throughout the discussion of the article, Crabtree emphasized the need to have a concrete, detailed plan put together that could go before voters and garner support.
“We have to take the politics out of this and understand that to get real support … the public has to weigh in on this and the public has to support the direction of the town and Town Meeting,” he said. “To do that, you have to have a thorough plan put together.”
