WURTSBORO — Wurtsboro may get a new firehouse, depending on how voters react next Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the Wurtsboro Fire District unveiled a $4.7 million plan to erect a 17,000-square-foot firehouse at the old Mamakating highway barn at the corner of Pine and Canal streets.

District officials say there's a desperate need for the Wurtsboro Fire Department to move out of its existing firehouse (which it doesn't own) a block away on Sullivan Street and also tear down the old town barn (which it does own).

A brochure shown at a recent informational meeting lists the woes with the current 1970-vintage firehouse: a lack of handicapped accessibility (important during community gatherings), excessive heating costs (due to no insulation), space constraints (especially with modern, larger fire trucks), insufficient storage and training areas, and a generator that only meets a portion of power needs, among other issues.

That building, too, is owned by the Village of Wurtsboro, which operates its offices out of the back side. And there's no room to expand on the property.

“We're on a postage stamp - and still are,” lamented Wurtsboro Fire District Board of Commissioners Chairman Bill Lothrop. “... And we are packed like sardines [inside the firehouse].”

Parking is at a premium too, often forcing responding firefighters to run to the firehouse from down the street, gear in hand.

The old town barn just a block away houses some equipment, but Lothrop said the roof had to have an emergency structural repair, which spurred commissioners to begin plans for a new firehouse.

However, the $4.7 million price tag, which could come with a sizable tax increase, has riled some residents.

“It just seems so lavish to me,” observed Melissa Arnott, a 45-year resident of Wurtsboro who attended the info meeting held by the fire district earlier this month. “The truck area is the smallest area of the firehouse!”

Indeed, even with a new building, the district may continue leasing its current space from the village, in order to house antique apparatus, a brush fire vehicle and trailer, and a boat.

Coming on top of a recent half-million-dollar purchase of a new fire truck and hefty budgetary increases, the building plan strikes Arnott as too much too soon.

“I think the firemen do an outstanding job,” she related, “... but I think this is a lot to expect from a depressed area.”

“Is it something we need to have right now, or would it [just] be a ‘nice thing'?” fellow resident Meghan Stalter said.

Neither has any complaint about the service the 65-member volunteer force renders. Indeed, Arnott says she'd consider approving a million-dollar firehouse to meet their needs.

But bonding over $4.6 million of the $4.7 million cost means a big hike in property taxes - $1.12 per $1,000 of assessed value. That's $56 more a year for a home assessed at $50,000, or $112 more on a home assessed for $100,000.

Stalter said she's been assured the district is seeking more “granting opportunities,” but coupled with the potential tax increase should the Village of Bloomingburg be dissolved and absorbed into the Town of Mamakating, Stalter isn't sure how much more she can take.

“I'm worried,” she acknowledged, adding frustratedly that “I feel as though it [the vote] is a foregone conclusion.”

“We don't deny that we wished it could be lower,” said Lothrop, who pointed out that the $4.7 million is a maximum figure crafted by C.T. Male, a Latham-based engineering firm specializing in firehouse design.

“I'm a taxpayer, too. I see what my tax bill is,” he added, noting that commissioners and engineers tried to find savings by changing a dedicated event hall to a combination event hall/meeting room.

Firefighters have volunteered time to finish interiors, and the building is about the size the property can accommodate, said Lothrop.

Still, the new firehouse is slated to have significant room for offices for various district/department leaders, training space, and a workout area. While the truck bays will be larger to accommodate increasing truck sizes, “we are not building the Taj Mahal,” Lothrop insisted.

“What are we going to build for $1 million?” he wondered. “We wouldn't get what we need.”

From decontamination space to room for pancake breakfasts, a new firehouse will position the busy department to handle the varied needs of the future, argued Lothrop.

“This is the building that we felt could take us the next 50 years,” he remarked. “If we're going to do it, let's do it once and do it right.”

Lothrop will find a “yes” vote from Kathy LaBuda, a legislator and resident of the fire district.

“The current Wurtsboro Fire Station does not meet OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] standards,” LaBuda argued. “... The Town of Mamakating is one of the fastest-growing towns in Sullivan County. The firemen have outgrown this building and are unable to expand the current building due to the fact they are unable to apply for loans and grants because they do not own the building.

“I understand that there would be an increase in taxes for Town of Mamakating residents,” she added. “As the Chairperson of [the County Legislature's] Public Works Committee, I can tell you the construction costs and materials may be pennies today but will cost dollars in the future. I feel that having a new firehouse is still a much lower cost than having paid firemen like the Monticello Fire Department.

“... The firemen absolutely need a new facility, and the longer we wait, the more costly it will become.”

Tuesday's (October 28) vote is open to all registered voters in the Wurtsboro Fire District. Polls will be open from 6-9 p.m. at the village office, 7 Pennsylvania Avenue, in Wurtsboro.