HYANNIS – Hyannis Fire District voters decided to fund a new $18.5 million fire station today at a district vote at Barnstable High School.
Out of 1,673 votes, 1,228 were “yes” votes, giving the project the necessary 2/3rds majority needed to pass.
It was the fourth time a vote on such a project came before ratepayers of that district, having failed at the last vote in 2014 by only 29 and before that by just 8.
Ratepayers will be responsible for $17.6 million of the cost after $900,000 is applied from the sale of a piece of land.
But that cost, according to Fire Commissioner Peter Cross, is well worth it.
“We put a lot of work into it, and there was so much negativity that we didn’t need,” Cross said, nearly in tears after the announcement was made. “We’re behind the eight ball as it is.”
He said the Commissioners will begin the next steps as early as Thursday.
The station will cost residents about $100 in additional taxes the first year, then decrease yearly.
Hyannis Fire District Board of Commissioners member Demetrius Atsalis previously said that it was time to approve a new station.
“We have a 51-year-old building. We’ve outgrown it years ago. It’s not a healthy situation in there, the equipment barely or doesn’t fit,” he said.
The department responded to over 7,000 calls last year, according to Atsalis.
According to Hyannis Fire Chief Harold Brunelle, the current station, built in 1965, is totally inadequate for contemporary operations.
“The place is just cramped, we have no space for female firefighters, we have three now,” he said.
Opponents claim the cost is still too high and will hurt Hyannis’ seniors and working families.
They also have said that not much has changed from previous proposals, a claim Brunelle challenged.
Brunelle said that, while cost is always a concern, the department is in dire need of a new station.
The Hyannis Fire Department covers around 9.5 square miles.
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