Wading River Fire District voters for the second time in four years have rejected plans put forward by district commissioners to repair, upgrade and expand fire district facilities.
A $6.8 million capital construction bond proposition failed by a two-to-one margin, 405 to 203.
The bond proposition would have funded: a 5,000-square-foot, three-bay storage facility at Station 2; replacement septic systems and emergency generator at Station 2 and the installation of a vehicle exhaust removal system there; installation of a new natural gas heating system and construction of additional storage space at headquarters;
and upgraded radio communications systems and infrastructure, including new radio towers, at both headquarters and Station 2.
The district said the improvements are necessary to address “the core structural, safety and building integrity challenges plaguing headquarters and station two firehouses.”
Wading River Fire District voters rejected a $4.75 million bond proposition in 2012 that would have funded the construction of a new fire station to replace Station 2, which was erected as a temporary structure in 1982.
There were two contests on the ballot yesterday for seats on the Wading River Fire District board of commissioners.
Incumbent John McManus won re-election, defeating former commissioner Tim Deveny for a five-year term, 330-256.
The second race, to fill the remaining term of the late Commissioner Tom Lateulere, is too close to call, according to district officials.
Commissioner Randy Hintze, who was appointed by the board to fill the vacancy created by Lateulere’s death in June, got 282 votes and former commissioner Michael Harrigan got 281 votes, district secretary Steven Donnelly said.
But one vote, an affidavit ballot, remains uncounted and enclosed in a sealed envelope. The voter was not in the voter book.
“We are contacting the Suffolk County Board of Elections today to find out how to proceed,” Donnelly said.
If the voter is determined qualified to vote in the district, the vote could change the outcome of the election if it proves to be a vote for Harrigan. The election will have then ended in a tie.
If it results in a tie, the district will hold a special election to pick a commissioner.
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