Seekonk Planning Board Reviews Fire Station

The Planning Board reviewed a proposal Tuesday for a new fire station in the south end of Seekonk.

Voters at the May 2020 town meeting allocated $425,000 for the design of the facility at the former school administration building at 69 School Street.

The 8300 square foot building would consist of three components, including dispatch, living quarters, and fire suppression.

The construction cost would be $7.2 million. An additional $2 million would be needed for “soft costs.” The total would be $9.6 million. A debt exclusion, or temporary tax increase, would need to be approved before construction begins.

Members of the South End Fire Station Building Committee made a presentation to the Board of Selectmen on January 18.

Town Administrator Shawn Cadime said the project would impact all three public safety departments – police, fire, and communications.

“Communications is running out of space,” Cadime noted. “We only have the availability to have two consoles so we have no room for expansion. The Police Department is looking for additional space, unfortunately when we built the main headquarters (on Taunton Avenue in 2005), the minute we moved in, we outgrew it based on the design.”

Cadime said the police department will benefit from having a new facility for communications, which would allow for faster response times.

Some residents expressed concerns about noise should the new fire station be constructed near their homes.

Town Planner John Aubin explained the town’s fire stations are all situated in residential neighborhoods, including the Banna station on Pine Street.

Cadime said if the town were to seek out another location for the facility, the price of the project would end up being significantly higher due to the current real estate market. The town owns the 69 School Street property.

Making the project suitable for the neighborhood is a top priority, Cadime added: “We don’t want to impact the quality of life for our residents.”