SPOTSWOOD–With firemen lacking space at the current fire stations in Spotswood, Fire Chief Kevin Meade asked the Borough Council to consider converting a vacant property into a new firehouse.
On Sept. 4, the council approved a resolution to purchase the property at 474 Main St. for $380,000. The purchase would be paid for through a capital improvement loan, Mayor Edward Seely said.
Seely said the borough currently does not own the property; it is owned by a private owner. The house that is located on the property is condemned, abandoned and covered in vegetation. It sits next to a PNC Bank across from the Spotswood Funeral Home.
After an environmental inspection was conducted, Seely said the soil tested clean and there are no tanks buried in the ground.
“I did send the code enforcer over to see because we are still not the owners yet to discuss cleaning up and fixing that porch,” Seely said.
Council President Charlie Spicuzzo explained that the borough is pursuing the possibility to purchase the property; however, at this time there are no plans for the property.
If the borough purchases the property, Seely said it will cost the borough a little under $50,000 to tear down the house and clean up the property.
Fire Chief Kevin Meade said, “In my budget requests for the 2019 budget I am reiterating and requesting that the borough looks into a new firehouse. As I told most of you in the past, we have outgrown the building, the building was built in 1960. We’ve had it looked at by an engineer, an architect [and] it can’t be expanded, it can’t be expanded beyond the footprint it already is. If you take it down it goes into the wetlands laws [and] the building will be smaller. 474 Main St. would be a prime location for a new firehouse.”
Emphasizing the lack of space his fellow firemen have, Meade said currently, the fire department closed down its back hall because they can no longer fit their gear in the engine room.
“Basically, in a nutshell, it is what it is. Time marches on and we need to secure a new location so I would like to formally request that you consider that in your plan for that property,” Meade said. “I was on the [recreation] department for a number of years, a rec center has good stuff. Take the old firehouse, it’s big in the back, it’s got plenty of room, you can do whatever you want with it. … For that, it will probably be fantastic and a good idea.”
Meade said he is currently looking for grants to help pay for the costs of building a new firehouse.
Resident Dulce Branco-Rivera said, “I think it needs to be something for the borough, something that is going to make sense for the borough. A firehouse is always nice, but I also very much advocate for a community center, something for the residents to use, something that will be beneficial someplace for [the recreation department] to have a place to actually have things for kids so they can do arts and crafts. …. A rec center/community center would be a really nice place.”
Branco-Rivera said if the borough plans on building a new firehouse on the property, then the borough should convert the firehouse into a community center.
For more information, visit www.spotswoodboro.com/borough-council.
Contact Vashti Harris at [email protected].