Millwood Matters

August 22, 2008
by Gene Nadel

Continuing Discussions on Fire District Matters

Fire Commissioners meet Monday evening, August 25, at 7:30 at firehouse # 2 on Rte 134.

At a recent special meeting, the Millwood Board of Fire Commissioners discussed the pending Draft Environmental Impact Statement submission to the New Castle Planning Board. As a result, the commissioners voted to include the recommendation of its consultant, JLN Associates, as an alternative in the DEIS to serve as a comparison with the smaller 15,500 sq. ft.WENT program and the Board’s larger 19,809 sq. ft. program. At 18,300 sq. ft., the JLN figure was approximately 1,500 sq. ft. less than the Board proposal.

The Board also discussed projected future budgets and voted on a motion to prepare a financial plan through 2013 to analyze future costs, with each commissioner to work up a 5 year financial budget for the fire district. Amounts to be included for debt service on the bond issue for the proposed new firehouse are obviously uncertain at this time, but these efforts should be helpful in providing all parties, including the public, with some idea of what to expect in future years.

With respect to the new building proposal, efforts will be pursued to get a firmer idea of current projected costs. These will include the cost of retaining walls using a worst-case scenario ranging from a 4 ft. high wall to one as high as 21 ft. tall. Discussion also took place regarding the possible relocation of the proposed building placement on the site, in an effort to reduce costs.

The next meeting of the BOFC will take place Monday evening, August 25, at 7:30 at firehouse #2 on Rte 134. As always, the public is invited to attend.

Potential Changes in Volunteer Ambulance Services

Preliminary Discussions have been taking place concerning the possible establishment of a new taxing district to cover the cost of ambulance service in the area covered by the Ossining Volunteer Ambulance Corps. This is of particular interest to New Castle residents in portions of Millwood and the West End because OVAC currently provides emergency service for a large portion of the town west of the Taconic Parkway.

At present, OVAC is primarily supported by voluntary contributions along with insurance reimbursements received for the services it renders. Unfortunately, in recent years, these sources of income have not been sufficient to cover increasing annual expenses.

The corps was originally formed as a voluntary organization, but as time went on, in order to maintain a proper standard of service, it became necessary to augment the volunteer group with additional personnel including paid paramedics and emergency medical technicians.

As a result, expenses have increased disproportionately thereby creating the budgetary shortfall. A preliminary estimate has suggested that the cost to taxpayer residents might be in the neighborhood of $50 per household. Any action affecting New Castle residents would have to be approved by the Town Board.

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