On Wednesday, the Ellenville Fire District held a public informational meeting at the Greenfield Firehouse to help shed light on the upcoming vote to approve a $550,000 bond resolution for the proposed purchase of the JM Originals building for conversion into a new firehouse. The resolution is the latest in the EFD's efforts to consolidate Ellenville's three fire companies, Kimble, Pioneer, and Scoresby.

EFD Commissioner Mike Moschetta provided information to the assembled residents -the number of whom exceeded 40 - about the process the department has taken to get to this point. [Note: Much of the information Moschetta provided is already available in this week's Ellenville Journal story, �Money To Burn.�] The department previously looked at purchasing the building that would become JM Originals ten years ago, but their efforts ended in a similar bond vote which failed to get approved. Since then, the department has attempted to relocate to different locations, primarily within the village to take advantage of the available water and sewer utilities, all to no avail. The JM Originals building came up for purchase again last fall when the selling agent informed the department that there are two other buyers interested in the property, and that the sale can only be held off for 60 days.

Moschetta also introduced the architect working on the project, Peter Cirillo, who has worked on firehouses for several other districts before, including Port Jervis, Circleville, Goshen, Pine Bush, and Warwick, to name a few. When asked if he had ever tackled a project that would involve the conversion of a building into a firehouse, Cirillo said that he had not.

Moschetta and the other representatives from the fire district said that consolidating the three fire companies into one would improve response time and efficiency for what is the second or third busiest district in the county, who responds to an estimated 500 calls a year. When consolidated, the district would not have to close streets to re-house their trucks and equipment after a call, and would always have the right equipment on hand for any situation, whereas certain necessary trucks or tools can be at any of the three houses at any given time. The district also believes that consolidation will allow their volunteers more time to work and to spend with their families, instead of having to devote time to maintenance of dilapidated firehouses.

The concerns brought by the public ranged from worry about what the new firehouse would cost taxpayers in the end to the specific details regarding the project's completion. As reported in earlier editions of the Journal, fire district representatives told residents that the project as-planned would cost tax-payers between $77 and $100 more in taxes a year for 30 years, though the variables of possible grants or cost overruns would alter this number in either direction. There was no official time-table for how long the project might take, but it was estimated at about two years.

Much concern revolved around the details of the vote, which was to take place exclusively at Greenfield Firehouse, the center of the district. Residents were upset over what they perceived as a rushed vote and a remote location. In a call to the Ellenville Journal's office today, Moschetta said that in response to the public's requests, the district called the Ulster County Board of Elections to secure a second voting location in Village Hall from 6-9pm, the same hours as the Greenfield location. The village vote will not have a voting machine, however, and instead will rely on paper ballots. Moschetta said that the additional polling place was a way for he and his district to demonstrate their willingness to address residents' concerns, and �to show the public that they asked us for something and we gave it to them.�

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