BRUNSWICK — The new Central Fire Station will be built on the corner of Webster and Pleasant streets, town officials said at a recent meeting. 

The town council weighed more than 10 locations for the planned $13.5 million station, Councilor David Watson said, and chose the spot because it allows for quick access to downtown and other parts of Brunswick. It also allows the fire department the ability to set the traffic lights up and down Pleasant Street, Councilor Jane Millett added.  

“We looked everywhere,” she said, and according to Councilor Kathy Wilson, they also had to factor in areas that would allow for the size of the fire trucks.  

Brunswick town councilors approved $13.5 million in funding for a new station in April.  

The new station is slated to replace the current, 100-year-old station, which has a myriad of safety, practicality and code issues. 

The deficiencies in the building include a lack of a sprinkler system, leaking floors, small vehicle bays that were built for horse-drawn firefighting equipment, no storage space, living quarters that sometimes double as office spaces, among others that have been documented for more than 20 years. 

The new station will roughly triple the current station’s available space, which is currently less than 10,000 square feet.  

The construction of the new fire station will require at least two Pleasant Street businesses — Aging Excellence and Residential Mortgage Services — to relocate.  

David Flaherty, who owns both properties at 113 and 115 Pleasant St., said the town approached him about the land earlier this spring. He said the land was available, though not actively listed. The two locations have an assessed land and building value of $179,800 and $188,700, respectively, according to town property records. The town has not made an offer yet, Flaherty said.  

Aging Excellence is moving down the road to 168 Pleasant St. next month, Amy Fagan, service coordinator at Aging Excellence, said in a phone interview Thursday. The business has been in its current location for 16 years.  

Residential Mortgage Services, which is run by Cathy Flaherty, David Flaherty’s wife, will also move “when the time comes,” he said, but will remain open.  

Until then, they are “in a holding pattern,” he said. It is unclear at this time if anyone else will have to relocate to accommodate the new station or how much the town intends to spend to purchase the land. 

There are many pieces moving at once, Millett said Friday, but the most pressing next step would be land purchase agreements. After that, the fire station project can go out for bids.  

In April, councilors narrowly voted down a more expensive $15 million station plan, despite a large community show of support at a public hearing. Councilor Steve Walker said he was “yet to be convinced” that the $1.5 million price difference would result in an equal increase in public safety. 

Last year the department made 4,600 runs, responding to 3,379 calls for emergency medical services and 1,271 calls for fires and alarms.  

The $13.5 million project includes an estimated $11 million building and the cost of land, as well as a roughly $300,000 bay that had initially been taken out of the plan by Fire Chief Ken Brillant during an earlier price cut. The project alone will carry a future 2.1 percent tax increase held steady for 15 years, and a $79.95 annual tax payment for a property assessed at $200,000. 

Town Manager John Eldridge did not return messages requesting comment.  

Efforts to reach Fire Chief Ken Brillant were unsuccessful.  

hlaclaire@timesrecord.com 

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