Petition Seeks Funds For Fire Station

SANDWICH- Despite the selectmen’s vote last week not to put an article on next month’s Special Town Meeting warrant seeking funds to staff the East Sandwich Fire Station, resident Barbara R. Lewis of North Shore Boulevard is not sitting idly by and accepting that decision.
On Friday, one day after the board’s vote, Ms. Lewis submitted a petition article signed by XXXX registered Sandwich voters, asking that $960,000 be spent to hire a dozen firefighters so that East Sandwich station could be reopened.  
In a telephone interview this week, Ms. Lewis explained that after hearing Fire Chief George P. Russell, Jr. and Deputy Fire Chief Thomas A. Corriveau explain why this station should be opened, she believed the issue was critical enough that voters at Town Meeting should have a say in the matter.
“I was very disappointed in the board’s decision last week. The most legitimate function of government is to provide safety for its citizens. Filing this citizens petition is pure democracy in terms of letting the citizens’ voices be heard,” Ms. Lewis explained.
“I’m not surprised, said Chairman of the Board of Selectmen Linell M. Grundman, who wanted to bring the issue to Town Meetign but was outvoted 4-1. “I wondered if somebody would pick up this charge. At the very least, it ensures that there will be discussion about this issue at Town Meeting,”
Selectmen Frank Pannorfi who has been vocal in his opposition to spending money at this time to reopen this station and instead supported spending up to $200,000 to fund a study of the town’s emergency services needs, said there are consequences to passing this article.
“I don’t think people understand how the appropriation process works. This petition asks to appropriate nearly a million dollars. Where do we get that million dollars from?” he asked rhetorically.
He explained that even if the article passes at the Special Town Meeting, it is ultimately up to the board of selectmen to decide where that money comes from. He said if the board does not support putting a Proposition 2 1/2 override on the ballot in the November elections, then the money would have to come from making cuts to other departments.
“The two biggest departments in the municipal government are the fire and the police departments,” he pointed out.
He further said that if cuts have to be made to come up with this money, it is likely that a host of departments will have to take a hit.
Town Manager George H. Dunham, however, said it may not even get that far.
“Town Meeting cannot force anyone’s hand to spend money. We don’t have the million dollars to raise and appropriate. The petition would have to identify where the money is coming from. This petition is really just a show of opinion,” Mr. Dunham said.
While Mr. Pannorfi said he supports reopening Station 2 to reduce response times to the eastern reaches of town, he questions if that can be done without hiring additional personnel. Beyond that, he said the first step in improving emergency services in town comes in the form of a study that, among other things, would spell out exactly how many stations are needed and where those stations should be located.
“The truth is what we did last week was the right thing to do,” he said.
Although the board grappled last week over whether to recommend spending an additional $640,000 to hire just eight firefighters to staff that station, a number that Fire Chief Russell said represented the minimum staff requirements, Ms. Lewis’s petition calls for 12 firefighters, the number that Fire Chief Russell said would be ideal.
“If you’re going to do this, do it right. There’s really not that much difference in price,” Ms. Lewis said.
She pointed out that after listening to Fire Chief Russell’s presentation on this issue, she did not believe that eight firefighters would be enough.  
She said the board of selectmen’s decision to recommend spending $200,000 for a study of the town’s emergency services needs is nearly one-third of the amount needed to hire the minimum number of eight firefighters and the study still doesn’t address the critical need that exists now.