BELLOWS FALLS -- The pros and cons of the proposed merger of the three fire departments that serve the town of Rockingham drew a standing-room only crowd Saturday morning.
The presentation was dominated by town and village officials who support the consolidation, which will be voted on during the floor meeting of Town Meeting next Saturday afternoon, March 1.
Proponents say the merger would save the town money in terms of fire engines and other equipment - two engines need to be replaced and won't have to be as all the equipment is shifted around and redistributed, and improve communication and training.
But an unaddressed question is how much the merger will cost in the long run if many of the Rockingham volunteer firefighters quit, as they have threatened to do, and the town is forced to hire firefighters to fill their positions. Rockingham and Bellows Falls respond to roughly the same number of accidents, incidents and fires.
While Rockingham and Saxtons River are staffed with volunteers, Bellows Falls has a paid full-time chief, and its call firefighters are paid.
That meeting marks the first time the town has held its regular Town Meeting on a Saturday afternoon, and townspeople must be there in person to vote, several people stressed.
Some residents urged the Rockingham Select Board to amend next Saturday's article so that the issue won't be final until the proposed study of the costs and benefits of the consolidation are fully studied.
Right now, the town only has ballpark estimates, and Select Board member Peter Golec said that some people in rural Rockingham will see their fire insurance go up as a result.
Bellows Falls Fire Chief Shaun McGinnis said that ISO (the organization that rates fire insurance) has determined that anyone living five miles from a fire station would have higher rates.
McGinnis said that was the main reason the proposal maintains the three existing fire stations - one in Bellows Falls, one in rural Rockingham, and the third in Saxtons River village - in order to keep fire insurance rates from jumping to a different rate.
Some townspeople will see jumps, nonetheless.
Many of the rural Rockingham residents who are so strongly against the proposed merger attended the meeting but were silent Saturday morning, at the meeting which was held at the Rockingham Free Public Library.
But some people criticized the board for setting up the vote before the consolidation had been completely studied. As it is now proposed, once the town votes on March 1, a study committee, made up of the three fire chiefs and town and village officials, as well as some townspeople, will study how the consolidation would occur. The earliest the consolidation would take effect is July 1, 2026.
But several people said that Article 9 (the consolidation vote) could be amended on the floor of next Saturday's meeting, either tabling the issue, requiring another townwide vote after the study committee completes its work, or amending the article.
Resident Jim Mullen of Rockingham questioned why Rockingham would continue to have three fire stations, since virtually every surrounding town only has one station.
The reason, McGinnis said, is fire insurance rates.
Resident Jamey Berrick was one of the residents pushing for the study before the town voted, or at least have another vote after the results of the study is known.
Saxtons River resident Ben Wallace asked about "the total cost to the community" in terms of the stations, the equipment and "the people," ie the many volunteers.
Wallace said he wanted to hear from the volunteer firefighters. "Is this going to jeopardize that?" Wallace asked.
Golec popped up to answer the question, but Moderator Paul Obuchowski said he isn't a volunteer firefighter and asked him to return to his seat.
Saxtons Rivers village has tried for years to come up with a plan to replace its station, the second floor of which is "condemned." The Saxtons River Village Trustees are currently negotiating or exploring the purchase of an existing building on Pleasant Valley Road as a potential site for a new station.
Under the plan, the entire town would pay for the new Saxtons River station. Upgrades to the Rockingham station, which is located at the town highway garage on Route 103, are also planned.
Bellows Falls resident Deborah Wright questioned whether the Bellows Falls Public Safety building would just be given to the town, as the village residents have paid for it and its repairs over the years.
Golec said that preliminary calculations showed that taxes for Bellows Falls residents would go down a net 2 cents while taxes for Rockingham residents would go up 4 cents.
Contact Susan Smallheer at [email protected].