The request was for a temporary building to house a new ladder truck.
RUMFORD – The Planning Board Thursday denied a site plan request by the Rumford Fire Department that would have allowed construction of a temporary building to house a new ladder truck on a municipal parking lot.
The denial came a few minutes after the board unanimously approved the site plan, said Planner Brad Adley.
Soon after the first vote was taken, resident Seth Carey presented a document showing that the town does not own the lot, but instead leases it from MeadWestvaco for use as a parking lot. No other use is permitted. The agreement was signed in October 1953.
“We had no problems passing the site plan,” said Adley. “I was a little taken aback. We thought everything was cut and dry.”
Now, he said a clear title must be established before the board can reconsider the request. When that is cleared up, a Planning Board meeting will be called again to act on it.
Meanwhile, Town Manager Robert Welch said he didn’t realize the lot, located at the rear of the fire station, was owned by the local paper company. He said he plans to meet with MeadWestvaco representative Bob Stickney to try to work out a change in the wording of the lease.
That won’t happen, however, until the Board of Selectmen give Welch approval at their next meeting set for Nov. 6.
The holdup is frustrating Fire Chief John Woulfe, who is trying to get a temporary building to house a new ladder truck delivered to the department last week. It is too large to house in the downtown fire station.
“We’re on hold,” he said. “I’m a little frustrated and tired of all the delays. With more delays, we may be working out in the snow.”
The Fire Department has been trying for almost a year to build a temporary building or find some other place to store the ladder truck. The building would be temporary because the department hopes residents will approve construction of a new, modern fire station sometime in the next few months.
Woulfe said plans to hold at least two public informational meetings on the need for a new fire station are also on hold until housing for the new ladder truck is resolved and firefighter training is completed on the new truck.
“Everyone believed the property was owned by the town,” he said.
Mostly volunteer labor by firefighters during their off time will be used to construct the temporary building. Total cost for the project is estimated at about $20,000.
Carey, who opposes construction of a new fire station and is leading a petition drive against it, said he believes it is not in the best interest of the town to construct a temporary building. He has also maintained that a new station is not needed.
A Fire Station Task Force, following at least two years of research, consultation and study, last year recommended building a more modern facility that would better serve the changing duties of a fire department. The current station was built in 1925.
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