The Bristol Press – Bristol City Council will consider buying land for a new fire station
BRISTOL – The Bristol Board of Fire Commissioners voted on Thursday to advance a motion to Bristol City Council to consider purchasing land for the construction of a new fire station.
Engine Company Three’s station is currently located at 81 Church Ave. Bristol Fire Chief Richard Hart presented a proposal to the city’s 10-year capital and strategic improvement planning committee last week for a new station. A new station would be used to house a larger fire apparatus and serve as a storage facility for the department’s equipment and “consumables”, the chief said. City officials have expressed concerns in the past about the location outside a street curve and reports of multiple vehicles colliding with the current facility. If a new station were to be built, such an undertaking could cost $7,800,000.
Continuing conversation revealed that nearly $400,000 had been appropriated prior to the current mayor’s administration for a new station.
“I didn’t know until we looked at the capital budget a while ago that the money was there and allocated, and as we’ve been talking about, probably for a while,” the mayor said. Bristol, Jeff Caggiano. “There is currently a hold on the property that we have with the owners to potentially purchase the property. I believe it expires on March 15.
The mayor said he thought it might be a good time to talk about acquiring the property at the request of another commissioner.
“My feeling is that the likelihood of federal grants and getting dollars from some of the potential bills that might come through, it would be nice to have a project ready to go and to have it in our hands now,” Caggiano said. .
The mayor was asked what might happen if the property is not purchased by the target date. He replied that the property had been held for three years before he took office.
“I had the letter signed when I arrived as mayor in November, so I don’t think there’s a lot of pressure, but I think it allows me to have the conversation to see if they are always ready. Again, they have to accept too, ”said the mayor of the owners.
He said he was unaware of any urgency to build or sell the proposed land, but was good to move forward with the potential purchase just in case.
Council passed the motion unanimously for the mayor to bring the matter before council and for council to potentially approve the mayor to enter into contractual arrangements for the purchase of land for a new fire station.
Hart has previously said Bristol Fire Station areas have contributed well to fire response times within professional four-minute standards. The mayor said he believed the city was considering purchasing 157 Church Ave.