The annual town meeting had a hint of déjà vu for roughly 250 residents who turned out Saturday to the Hinsdale Middle/High School gym. Residents once again considered purchasing a property at 59 Plain Road on which to build a new fire station.
Voters approved the purchase for the second time, after a “yes” vote last year was ruled invalid by the state. They also passed the town’s budget and approved as written all but one article on the remainder of the warrant.
The budget is $5,297,087, down $44,440, or 0.83 percent, from the 2024-25 budget of $5,341,527.
Fire station vote, take two
At a special town meeting in September, voters approved the purchase of a property on Plain Road for a new fire station at a heated three-hour meeting at the town hall. Saturday, they considered the same article again.
The N.H. Department of Revenue Administration deemed the September vote invalid in December because town officials changed the wording of the warrant article after it had been submitted to Cheshire County Superior Court to get approval for the special meeting. The change came because the seller lowered the asking price for the property. According to the department, the article residents voted on had to exactly match the one the court approved.
The revenue department sent the decision to annual town meeting, where residents returned Saturday to the debate with vigor.
The $399,000 appropriation, with $230,000 to come from the fire station building trust and $169,000 from the unassigned fund balance, was recommended 3-0 by the selectboard, with two abstentions, and not recommended by the budget committee, which voted against it 4-3 with two abstentions.
Budget committee member Mike Bomba said some on the committee had remaining concerns about the proposal, including the use of money from the unassigned fund balance. “It’s a lot of money, and we don’t have a lot of money in the unassigned fund balance. So that is a concern. If something big happens, where are we going to find the money?” Bomba said.
Selectboard Chair Steve Diorio said he’s been in favor of a new building and the location on Plain Road “since day one.”
“If you look at any firehouse station in our area, they’re all updated with more space … Even Swanzey passed their fire station, and it’s been years,” Diorio said.
Swanzey voters passed a plan for a new fire station last Tuesday after similar proposals failed on seven previous ballots since 2015.
Hinsdale residents spoke in favor of a new station, but some had lingering concerns about the proposed location, which includes the parcel of land as well as an old church building that will be incorporated into the future station.
Resident Peter Ohmart called the proposed location “more hazardous than feasible,” saying he’s concerned about fire trucks entering and exiting through a “dangerous” intersection. He said he also wants a more centralized location along Route 119. “On 119, you would have a lot less problems … speed limits are higher so you wouldn’t have the problems of being in a residential neighborhood.”
Mark Curtiss, who is on the fire department and drives the trucks, said the most dangerous intersection in town is the one on Main Street that the department currently has to pass through when leaving the existing station from Depot Street.
Longtime Hinsdale resident Paul Barnard said he’s concerned about moving the station away from downtown, as well as the availability of grant money for the project. The fire department intends to seek grant funding, but can’t apply for grants until the town has a location approved, fire department members said.
“With President Trump cutting everything, I think we might be dreaming if we think we’re going to get anything from the federal government for a while,” Barnard said.
Budget committee member Dan Seymour pushed back. “We just keep finding excuses not to do it … Trump will leave office sooner or later, and we’ll be able to get that money again,” he said. “A fire station is a necessity. When you’re in trouble, you need them. We gotta keep this moving, folks. If we keep kicking this down the road, it’s just going to get more and more expensive.”
Resident Arnie Rose echoed that sentiment. After touring the current station at an open house last fall, Rose said he was left with no doubt about the necessity of a new one. “I owed it to them to go down there last fall for the open house. I’m glad I did. They need a new place,” he said. “How many times can we keep kicking them down the road or pushing them aside? They need it. The end.”
The article passed 158-70 in a near-exact replica of the 155-78 September vote, to Fire Chief Terry Zavorotny’s relief. He said after the meeting he was optimistic about the purchase passing, but had been dreading hearing the same questions and concerns he feels have already been answered.
Zavorotny said the next step for the department is to start applying for grants to help pay for building the new station.
Water and sun
Voters approved a $228,000 appropriation to bring the town’s water system into compliance with the Federal Lead and Copper Rule.
According to Town Administrator Kathryn Lynch, the rule requires all public water systems to confirm they are meeting federal limits on lead and copper entering the water supply. There is a government loan program available this year with significant principal forgiveness to support towns’ efforts to get into compliance. The town will use the funding to identify sources of lead and copper in the system and to engineer and purchase parts for replacements as needed.
The principal forgiveness of about two-thirds isn’t guaranteed if the town waits until next year to apply, Lynch said. The $228,000 will be borrowed through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, according to the warrant. Any cost not covered by the principal forgiveness will be paid through water user fees.
Lynch said the town won’t have to make any payments on the loan until the project is finished, and could then be eligible for a multi-year repayment plan if necessary.
The article needed a three-fifths majority to pass and got it with a secret ballot vote of 210-2.
Residents also passed a $200,000 plan to build a 60-kilowatt solar photovoltaic energy system at the town’s transfer station. The build will be funded by a N.H. Department of Energy Municipal Solar Assistance grant and have no immediate impact on taxes, according to the warrant.
Hinsdale Community Development Coordinator Joshua Green said the system could save the town as much as $25,000 per year on electricity costs for about 25 years. Green said the town will likely enter a maintenance contract with Barrington Power — the company that will be installing the array — at a cost of about $1,000 per year to upkeep and monitor the system.
The article passed by voice vote.
Other business
Residents amended the appropriation for the Hinsdale Historical Society from $15,000 to $10,000 after Sharron Smith, a member of the society, told voters the group had a successful winter fundraiser and received enough donations to get by with a smaller allocation from the town. The $10,000 passed.
Voters approved the remainder of the warrant as written, including $22,354 to cover the first year of an $89,000 four-year lease-to-own agreement on a Ford Interceptor Police Utility vehicle, $25,000 for fire department protective equipment, $20,000 for town hall maintenance and improvements, $10,000 for community center maintenance and improvements, and two tax incentives aimed at drawing business and housing developments to town.
This article is being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.
