New Rochester fire station eyed

Feasibility study proposed to explore new Rochester fire station

Feb 16, 2022

ROCHESTER — Rochester is exploring building a new fire station, possibly in combination with the police department. 

Town Meeting voters will be asked to spend as much as $110,000 for a feasibility study to explore the conditions of the current stations and look at potential solutions, according to information discussed Wednesday, Feb. 16 at a joint meeting of the Select Board and the Public Safety Committee.

One possibility would be a standalone building to house the fire department, while another option would locate the police and fire departments into one site.

All options are on the table, select board chair Brad Morse said. The study would explore “what we should be doing.’’

The fire department currently has locations on Pine Street, Neck Road and Ryder Road, with headquarters on Hartley Road.

The formation of a building committee to oversee the process was also discussed.

This committee, select board member Woody Hartley said, should include “a good representation of ages’’ and backgrounds.

Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar suggested keeping the building committee to a manageable number, factoring in the difficulties of coordinating schedules among a large group of people.

“It’s better to have quality than quantity,’’ she said.

Hartley suggested reaching out to the public to see who might be interested. “We want to broaden it as much as we can,’’ he said.

Morse said that people in town have various backgrounds that could bring experience and viewpoints to the board.

No specific decision was announced on how the board would be formulated and how many members would be included.