On Thursday, June 10, the Vails Gate Board of Fire Commissioners hosted a public informational session to discuss the newly proposed firehouse construction.

Vails Gate Board of Fire Commissioners Chairman Steven Sager and Commissioner Paul Decker provided notes and spoke on the current plan for reconstruction.

Robert Bee of H2M architects and engineers presented the current proposal for the reconstruction, consisting of two building phases. The first phase will be building a temporary base of operation with several truck bays, offices and storage for the company. The cost for this temporary base of operation is projected to be $1,560,000. The second phase will consist of demolishing and building a new main firehouse, projected to be $12,815,000.

The total cost for this project is projected to be $16,500,000, of which $500,000 will be provided by the fire company. Further factors that make the numbers high also include material prices that have risen and shifted as a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic.

The second station located at Weather Oak Hill Road was not included in the proposal.

With various maintenance patchworks, limited storage space, and other needs for fire code requirements, this building will help the fire company operate better. Furthermore, contingency plans have been put into place should anything change in terms of cost or design.

“When we’re building new firehouses, we’re building the firehouse for the next 50 to 75 years. We want this building to last that long,” Bee said. “This is an essential building. We have to make sure it’s designed properly.”
Now the main question is how much will this new project cost for the residents of New Windsor and Cornwall in terms of payment.

Commissioner Sager shared his notes for taxpayer costs. This means that a New Windsor resident will pay an additional $1.05 per one thousand dollars of assessed home value while a Cornwall resident will pay an additional $0.17 per one thousand dollars of assessed home value. These amounts are different for the residents of New Windsor and Cornwall for two reasons. First, New Windsor residents will pay 94% of the projected cost while Cornwall residents will pay 6%. Second, New Windsor residents’ taxes are assessed at 15% of the market value of their home while Cornwall residents are assessed at 100% of the market value of their home.

Prior to the Thursday night meeting, Sager and Decker provided a tour of the facility, discussing the exterior and interior needs should the vote pass on the proposal later this June.

The current building that the fire company operates out of was constructed in 1958, containing the truck bays and a small meeting room. In 1964, the meeting room was expanded upon for usage of bingo and other events that provided revenue for the company. In 1971, the second floor addition of offices and other areas of work were added.

“This process for us started about five years ago,” Sager said. “Buildings are not made to last 60 years, especially when they were built back then.”
For Sager, he has been a fire company member since 1982. For Decker, he has been a member since 1980. Both commissioners have seen the various changes and repairs that have gone into the maintenance of the current firehouse.

Also in attendance at the meeting was Vails Gate Chief James Merritt who shared these comments on the company’s current work in the community during the presentation.

“We pride ourselves on being one of the busiest volunteer fire departments in the county. Last year we did 575 calls, and we’ve been around 600 calls for the last ten years or so,” Merritt said. “We are a 100 percent all volunteer membership that answers to the fire district. We have no paid staff, completely volunteer members showing up in their free time.”

With all of this information in mind and with the community of New Windsor still expanding, community support is what the fire company hopes for come June.

The public will have the opportunity to vote on the proposal through a special election Tuesday, June 22, from 6-9 p.m. at the current firehouse.