Marked trees on the property owned by the Fire District
By First Assistant Fire Chief Andrew Klein
October 14, 2017
You may have noticed the tape on some trees at the front of the property along Route 22: Yes, we are planning to clean that up! We've identified the invasive species and unsafe trees to take out. We are first having a wetlands survey done to delineate the buffers we need to avoid, and then will get to work on making that look nicer.
I would like to know who decided to put a Firehouse in densely populated residential area. This is going to affect the quality of life for the people who live around there. It is not the ideal spot to put it there. Who made this terrible decision? When is the meeting to discuss other options
Linda Bellofatto
November 19, 2017 at 11:16 AM
I wrote to you previously and did not get a response. I would like to know who decided to put a new Firehouse in a densely populated residential area. If you have visited other communities you would notice that where Firehouse are do not impact the quality of life of residents and property values. I feel that who ever decided this did not think about the residents that will be impacted financially and their quality of life. Please put it somewhere else
Patrick Balatsos
November 20, 2017 at 12:33 PM
Hi - what group is identifying the wetlands? What clean up is expected? The property seems to have been owned by the department / town for a number of years without any maintenance. Along these lines, what group actually owns the property?
Bedford Fire Department
December 03, 2017 at 1:10 AM
"Thank you to those residents who have taken the time to ask questions and offer feedback regarding the news that the fire district has begun marking trees on the property along Route 22 in an effort to clear out unsafe and invasive species of trees. First, the district apologizes for the delay in responding (when a user comments on a specific article on our website, we have discovered that the comments go to a ‘backend’ for review and approval before they can be posted to the page). We’d like to take this opportunity to clarify some points which should answer some questions that residents have submitted.
First, the property on Route 22 is owned by the fire district. The wetlands on the property are being flagged by the district’s wetlands consultant/survey company. The wetlands were previously flagged and approved by the town wetlands committee and the state. The district is now cleaning up the property, as stated above, to clear dead trees and invasive species that are killing native specimen trees.
The plan to build a new firehouse on the Route 22 property was a decision made by the fire commissioners after researching other options within the town and discussing the plan with the fire department. The final decision to propose a firehouse to the community at that location was made by the commissioners of the fire district. The Route 22 property’s central location is ideal for our fire district – not only for the community for whom we provide fire protection services, but also for the volunteers of our department who live across the entire community.
We do recognize that the Route 22 property is within a residential area, unlike our current firehouse. There are other fire districts in surrounding communities that have firehouses in residential areas; we would not be unique. Like them, we are committed to being good neighbors to those residents who live in the area and would work with them throughout the process to ensure the seamless incorporation of the proposed firehouse in its new location.
As always, we will continue to share important information with the Bedford community as it develops. We anticipate holding a community forum during the month of January (date to be announced) to inform residents about the fire district’s challenges at the current firehouse. We will also update the community on where the district stands in the process of moving forward with a public vote on the new firehouse. We look forward to as much community participation and input as possible as we move through this process together. Thank you for your continued participation.”
