The Windham Town Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to schedule a special town meeting vote for June 13 on a $2.19 million bond to fund the acquisition and development of the former Maine Cedar Log Home manufacturing facility in order to convert it into the new home for the South Windham Fire Station.

The 15-year-old, 13,000-square-foot warehouse facility, located at 37 Main St. and owned by Anania Investments, has been used for storage since 2013, when Maine Cedar Log Homes closed.

The council voted 6-0 Tuesday to authorize a special town meeting vote on Saturday, June 13, at the Community Center Gym, following the annual town meeting, which starts at 10 a.m.

“I hope everybody supports it,” Town Councilor Donna Chapman said. “I think we need it.”

According to Town Manager Tony Plante, the anticipated acquisition cost is $700,000, while renovation costs will total about $777,000, construction and design costs $141,000, and paving costs $50,000. The estimated debt service on the bond is projected to total $526,000.

According to a March 19 feasibility study by Portland-based SMRT Architects and Engineers, the pre-engineered metal building, if renovated, could suitably meet the needs of the Windham Fire-Rescue Department, which has outgrown the aging, 3,220-square-foot South Windham Fire Station at 8 Main St. The department has three other stations, in North Windham, Windham Center and East Windham.

The facility is located in a 12-acre business park, also owned by Anania Investments. Peter Anania, a Windham resident and former town councilor, owns the firm, which oversees a number of high-tech businesses in Maine.

Plante said he has negotiated a “tentative agreement” with Anania Investments for acquisition of the property.

“I don’t have an agreement yet to bring to the council because there were still some issues that we have to work out,” he said.

Town officials say the 50-year-old South Windham station structure, located on a .35-acre property surrounded by the Presumpscot River, Route 202 and a residential apartment building, is too small and cannot be expanded enough to meet the needs of the fire-rescue department. When Anania approached town officials last year about using the property for municipal storage, he was told the town may be interested in a different use.

“The South Windham Fire Station is undersized, at this point about 50 years old and being built so close to the river has had some physical and structural issues over the years,” Plante said. “The town is simply growing to a point where the building really no longer meets the needs of the department.”

The town commissioned architect David Mains of SMRT to write a $6,800 feasibility study of the facility, which includes a 12,000-square-foot pre-engineered metal building and an adjoining log cabin show home. Mains projected that the town would need to spend between an estimated $401,000 and $777,000 to upgrade and modify the building and also meet regulatory requirements.

According to a project budget, the facility will require $227,000 in investment for regulatory requirements, such as structural framing, apparatus bay doors, walls and exhaust. Another $174,000 will be needed for required modifications, including a septic system upgrade, an emergency generator, an office ventilation system, and emergency lights, among other items. Finally, another $376,000 will be needed for staff area renovations, LED lighting upgrades, a training room, and apparatus bay support spaces, although these proposed upgrades are the lowest priority improvements.

According to Fire-Rescue Chief Brent Libby, the existing station also poses problems for the three Southern Maine Community College students who live in the station during the school year. The students are trained firefighters and EMTs and usually provide first response when calls come in. Libby said the Maine Cedar Log Homes facility presents a “viable option” for a new facility.

The original fire station, at 8 Main St., was constructed in 1934 and burned down three years later, Libby said. A new fire station was then constructed on the site, which was then replaced by the current structure in 1966.

“There was an opportunity that we felt we just couldn’t pass up,” Plante said. “There is very little available land in South Windham village. Trying to locate another fire station somewhere in the village would be extremely difficult, if not impossible.”

Windham voters will decide June 13 on whether to move South Windham Fire Station operations to a new location in the village.Staff photo by Ezra Silk