East Hampton Town, Village Agree On Northwest Fire Station

Jul 10, 2018 3:17 PM

After months of negotiations, officials from East Hampton Town and East Hampton Village have reached an agreement that will allow the village to construct a satellite station for the East Hampton Fire Department in Northwest.

The Town Board last week scheduled a public hearing on its plans to lease a half-acre property between Old Northwest Road and Bull Path to the village so that it can station trucks nearer to some of the most remote neighborhoods in the town. The public hearing will be held on July 19.

Residents of parts of northernmost Northwest Woods have long been burdened with extremely high homeowners insurance premiums—as much as $10,000 per year in some cases—or can’t get it at all, simply because there is no firehouse within five miles of their homes.

The town and village had been working together on a plan to use the former town brush dump for a fire substation for many years. The two municipalities had announced that they had finally agreed to build the firehouse more than a year ago, and the town’s regulatory boards have already issued approvals for the 3,800-square-foot building.

But negotiations between the town and village took months to wrap up, mainly because of the complicated nature of the financial arrangement to pay for the building. The village, which controls the fire department and owns all of its assets, will borrow the money to construct the building and will be repaid by the town, which will add the bond repayment to the tax levy on residents of the Northwest Fire Protection District.

Village Administrator Rebecca Hansen said the cost of the building is estimated to be between $1 million and $1.5 million.

The town will charge the fire department $20 per year to lease the land on which the station is to be built.

The station will have four bays for fire trucks and an ambulance, as well as a small office.

Ms. Hansen said the village expects to have the building completed by next summer.