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WCFD Building Committee Report
Annual Meeting
April 4, 2005
Seven years ago, the voters of this district had the foresight to approve the purchase of a parcel of land on Rte 102 at a very reasonable cost on which to situate a new fire station when the appropriate time came. That time is rapidly approaching. The Board of Directors and Chief Pomfret have recognized that the Summit Station, the primary facility, has significant limitations when taking into account the present needs of the department and the future needs of the district. (The Greene Station will continue its service as a satellite facility.) Well over two years ago the board of directors formed a building committee with the charter to perform the tasks associated with the justification, preparation, and completion of such a project.
The committee, comprised of the Chief, other department members, board members, and district voters has meet monthly or more frequently as needed. These meetings were and will continue to be posted, open, and documented. Such matters as providing for adequate member safety and well being, member training, member accommodations, handicap accessibility, housing of apparatus and equipment, training space, district administrative duties, and public assembly space while taking into account the rapidly changing demographics and the future needs of the district are all matters that have been researched and discussed at great length. The present and projected call volume for the foreseeable future is such that the department can continue to rely on volunteers rather than a very costly 24/7 full time staff. It has been a proven practice in other similar communities that the availability of a professionally designed, code compliant, safe facility attracts volunteers and this then has resulted in improved and reliable emergency services.
Visits were made to various other recently constructed fire stations to gather information. A two day symposium on fire station design was attended. Advertisements for proposals from surveyors, site engineers, architectural and construction firms were placed followed by proposal reviews, presentations and interviews. The outcome has been that Coventry Survey Co., Inc. has been commissioned to perform the site development work. A site plan has already been drawn by Coventry Survey that includes topographical information and water table findings. Coventry Survey has also made recommendations regarding a suitable location on the site for the building, well and septic system. Walker Engineering of West Greenwich, working in conjunction with Coventry Survey, will provide for the civil engineering needs of the project.
The architectural firm of Durkee, Brown, Viveiros & Werenfels of Providence is partnering with Cooper, Stewart & Newell Architects of Gastonia, North Carolina to meet the design needs of the facility and provide the project oversight. This team brings the experience of having designed and successfully built more than eighty fire stations of which many are for volunteer departments located in rural communities much like ours and having limited funds. As of this date, this team has been commissioned to complete what is referred to as the "schematic phase" of our project. This phase includes the fine tuning of the needs and resources and pictorial renditions of the facility. The timetable calls for a formal presentation to the district voters at a special meeting to be held in late July or early August this year. With the voter's approval at that meeting, the project will proceed to full documentation and construction.
I would like to take this opportunity to recognize those individuals who have recently taken part in the Committee's work: Chief Joel Pomfret, Firefighter Jim Vose, District Clerk Denis Fournier, Bernie George, Chuck Smith, Michael Collins, John (Sonny) Koszela, Joe Tatro, and District Treasurer Glenn Underwood. Countless others have also provided valuable input. The outcome will be a facility we as a community can be very proud of.
Respectfully submitted,
John Humble, Building Committee Chair
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