THE HUDSON VALLEY'S NEWEST OLD NEWSPAPER
ELLENVILLE, NEW YORK
12428
THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2008
Gutter
Editorial
Trial By Fire

I t was just two weeks ago that the issue of next Tuesday's Ellenville Fire District vote appeared in a midwinter haze. Since then, it has been a topic of much debate on our website, at public meetings and in casual conversation between neighbors who see a value in finally moving forward with a project that has been languishing for years as the district's leadership has moved from location to location.

Now, that the issue has come to the fore, we find that there are four essential questions that district voters must answer.

Does the consolidation initiative need to happen?
The arguments for consolidation range from the financial�� where pro-consolidation advocates say that the initiative will free up the Scoresby and Pioneer halls and return them to the tax rolls, an argument that loses some validity when one looks at short term and long term economic predictions as well as the fact that there is evidently no appraisal for either building�� to the issue of enhanced safety due to increased response times and an easier training schedule.

Has the district's leadership exhausted every other possible alternative?
It is clear that the EFD has explored the former Herb's Dodge, the Berme Road Park area, the former site of a gas station on 52 West and even the JM Originals Store Building some years ago. The common refrains regarding those sites are either that they are too small or they come with some environmental concerns with which the district would prefer to not get involved. Many have criticized the JM Store's location and its proximity to the school, senior housing, a possible flood plain and the possible issue of having decreased response time by having to move through the village for calls west of Route 209.

Can taxpayers withstand a potential 33% tax increase for the next 30 years in order to pay for a project that is roughly estimated at $4.1 million?
As has been mentioned in this and other spaces, there is a real concern on the part of village residents regarding the purchase and renovations of the Ellenville Government Center. Those concerns, which won't be realized or allayed until June when the village releases its next budget, may be enough to stop this project from moving forward.

These are perilous times in the lives of the local and national economies and people are justified in looking suspiciously at large capital projects�� even if it is for a good cause.

Can district taxpayers afford NOT to move forward with this or any other district proposal?
One of the arguments that has been made is that district residents decided against similar efforts in the past and that this price tag is the cost of putting this project off. If voters feel that consolidation, at some point, needs to happen and that the district has exhausted every other possibility, then voters may choose to pay a lot today so that they won't have to pay more tomorrow.


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