HYANNIS – In a big loss for the Hyannis Fire District, voters failed for a third time to approve a new fire station by the necessary two-thirds needed to pass.
The vote was 717 in favor and 401 opposed. In order for the motion to pass, it needed a two-thirds majority or 746 votes. It failed by 29 votes.
The voters were asked to approve $17.7 million to complete the fire station project. An additional $3 million was already approved in past votes. The district had planned to sell two parcels of land for the additional approximately $1.5 million, making the total project about $22 million.
The vote was held at Barnstable High School from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. after a one hour information session that began at 9 a.m.
The voter turnout was by all accounts a record for the district with 1,119 voters casting ballots. There was one blank vote.
Hyannis Fire Chief Harold Brunelle says the district will be forced to spend money to upgrade the new station. He estimated the cost could go as high as $10 million.
The two previous votes also failed to garner the needed two-thirds majority. The vote on July 1 failed by 8 votes.