Group Continues Work on Proposal
For Shared Emergency Services
By Martha Slater

Members of the Rochester, Hancock and Granville Fire Departments, the Valley Rescue Squad, Rochester Selectboard and the Rochester Constables, gathered Thursday, Feb. 1 at the Rochester Town Office. At its second meeting, this group continued discussion about the possibility of the three towns consolidating their fire, ambulance and law enforcement services into one centrally-located facility.

Rochester Fire Chief Terry Severy said he had checked with several insurance companies and for property owners not to lose any points from their insurance coverage, the companies require that the insured property be within approximately five miles of a fire station. If it’s too far away, the homeowner pays a penalty, increasing the cost of their insurance coverage. Severy said his sources said the towns of Hancock and Granville would improve their insurance ratings if the three towns had a centralized facility, with a satellite building in Granville.

Several possibilities for locations of a central building were discussed.

Ray Harvey of the Rochester Fire Dept. said a minimum site size for this building would be between 3-5 acres, because room for a septic system, parking, etc. was also needed.

Rochester Constable Tom Simpson shared a chart he’d made showing exact distances between a number of points along the valley’s Route 100 corridor, which was helpful during the discussion.

Charlie Biederman of the Rochester Selectboard said he’d had a brief conversation with officials at the U.S. Forest Service, about using some of the land at that facility on Route 100. They promised to look into it and get back to him, so he said he felt that was a viable option.

Rochester Selectboard chair Larry Straus reported that he had spoken with Mike Bowen regarding using a spot on the Martin farms property further north on Route 100. Bowen said he was not anxious to take prime agricultural land out of that use, but indicated that if that location was the last best hope, he would not say no.

Straus said he had also spoken with personnel at the Vt. Land Trust, which has easement on that land. They said there was some precedent for such use, but if there were other possibilities, they would prefer not to allow it.

Straus also had a conversation with Bob, Dave and Tom Kennett regarding their Tail Feather Farm property on Route 100. He said they were willing to consider the idea, sell a subdivided portion of the land and dismantle the existing barns, so that the facility could be at that site.

Jack Ross and Rob Deering of the Hancock Fire Dept. pointed out that land at Taylor Meadow, which is owned by the town of Hancock was also an option.

Everyone present agreed that in the not too distant future, all three towns would have to consider paid departments, and the expense of that was another reason for all three towns to work together.

Those present discussed what information was needed for a joint meeting with the selectboards and fire chiefs from all three towns.

Severy agreed to work on a preliminary building design and prices for steel buildings. He shared a detailed drawing that he had already put together, showing five bays for trucks, plus office and meeting space for the fire, constable, and ambulance departments, as well as sleeping and bathroom facilities.

Straus said the three fire companies as independent bodies had a decision to make, as did the selectboards, noting that he didn’t think the boards could make a decision for the fire companies if they didn’t choose to work together. If the three fire companies chose to work together, he said, he felt the boards would also be willing to do so, and then the voters would have to have their say.

It was decided that the next step was to have a joint meeting with the selectboards and fire departments of all three towns present. Since representatives of all departments were present at the Feb. 1 meeting, they were asked to talk to their own personnel at their next department meetings.

Prior to the next meeting, some preliminary research will be done on the financial piece of the picture, regarding the cost of building construction and projected operating expenses. Data on budgets from all three fire departments, rescue squad, and constables will also be collected.

The date for the joint meeting was set for Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. at the Hancock Town Hall.

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