By Jim Stevens
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
DELAFIELD, Wis. — By the slimmest of margins, town residents on Tuesday defeated a measure to borrow $4 million for a 14, 800-squarefoot firehouse to be built near Town Hall off Golf Road.
“We are extremely disappointed,” said Fire Chief Dean Richards. “The members of the department are heartbroken.” The referendum was defeated 2, 128 to 2, 119, setting up the possibility of a recount, though Town Clerk Mary Elsner said Wednesday morning she has not been directed to do so. Town Chairman Paul Kanter said he personally would not ask for a recount and accepts the result. “I have no reason to believe the clerk has not accurately counted the votes,” he said.
Kanter, who pushed for this referendum, said the result was “very disappointing.” “It’s hard when it’s as close as it is. It is a tough one,” he said.
Kanter said he wanted the referendum held on the November ballot because there would be more people at the polls. The town had a 78 percent turnout.
“We got that ... I am very, very pleased in the participation in the democratic process,” he said.
The issue though remains unresolved and a solution needs to be found, he said. What that would be he does not know, but there are possibilities including consolidating the department with neighboring departments, he said.
Town Supervisor Russ Ackley, an ardent supporter of the new firehouse, would not comment on the results.
The new station would have replaced the near 50-year-old building on Maple Avenue. Town officials have pushed for a new station, saying the current station is inadequate and unsafe. The building’s ventilation is poor, storage is inadequate, and overall the building has an unsafe environment, town officials said before the vote.
The structure is also not big enough to house a new firetruck that Richards and other members of the department were picking up Wednesday morning in Appleton.
Two residents interviewed outside Town Hall on Tuesday supported the referendum.
Keith Rueber said it was time a new firehouse should be built.
“The town has been expanding ever since I moved here in ’92,” Rueber said. “They need a new fire station.
Get the money now while it’s still cheap.” Pam Boyd also supported a new station.
“I feel we need a new one,” she said.
The tax impact was estimated at 20 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation, meaning the owner of a house valued at $400,000 would pay $80 a year in taxes.
Richards said some opposition to the measure came out of the Arbors subdivision off Maple Ave.
“The opposition produced difficult uncertainties for the Fire Department,” Richards said. Opponents used “very incorrect information that took the wind out of our sails.” One e-mail sent by the opposition stated that if the measure was defeated, town officials have said morale in the department would decline and members might leave. The e-mail continued that with the high level of unemployment, it would be easy to replace the volunteer firefighters, Richard said. The comment incensed Richards, who called it insulting.
On the November 2004 ballot, town residents shot down three questions relating to the construction of a new fire station or a fire station/town hall combination.
Copyright 2010 Journal Sentinel Inc.