Whalen: Town Residents Couldn’t Afford New Fire Station

Seekonk Fire Chief Shaun Whalen believes a tax increase to pay for a new fire station for the South End of town would have been too much of a burden on residents.

Last October, the Select Board voted against placing an article on the Fall Town Meeting warrant. Chair Michael Healy, Pam Pozzi, and Justin Sullivan all voted no, while Chris Zorra and Michelle Hines voted in favor.

Voters at the May 2020 town meeting allocated $425,000 for the design of the facility at the former school administration building at 69 School Street. The town owns that property. The 8300 square foot building was to  consist of three components, including dispatch, living quarters, and fire suppression. The construction cost would have been as much as $11.2 million. A debt exclusion, or temporary tax increase, would’ve needed to have been approved at town meeting before construction began.

Whalen explained the town’s other expenses had to be taken into consideration. $1 million will be used to pay Seekonk’s share of the Tri-County Regional Vocational High School’s new building. A new $39 million Department of Public Works (DPW) facility has also been announced, and plans for an expansion of the Seekonk Public Library have been proposed.

“I don’t feel (the Select Board) found that the taxpayers would actually be receptive (to a debt exclusion),” Whalen said on July 8.

Board members also cited a possible lack of personnel to occupy the new facility based on the current shortage of firefighters. “I don’t know if I can support an $11 million building when we’re having staffing issues (in the fire department),” said Zorra.

Whalen said staffing wouldn’t have been a problem.

“We would have to come up with a different staffing model that we currently have. We could have put people in place in that building for sure,” Whalen added.