By a whisker, Milton OKs new fire station bond package

A sign outside Tuesday's polling at the Assembly of God Church foreshadows a victory for Milton's new fire station. (Lebanon Voice photo)

MILTON - Three years after Milton's proposed new fire station went down to defeat by just a handful of votes residents saw fit to turn the tables, approving its trimmed-down version on Tuesday, OK'ing a $2.8 million bond package by just three votes.

The package needed 60 percent of the vote, or 563 votes, to be approved, because it constituted a long-term bond package. It got 566.

Townspeople have voted in the majority a couple of times to fund the new fire station, but not up to the 60 percent threshold. In 2013 the 60 percent was missed by a handful of voters. The next year, in 2014, not even a simple majority approved a $2.7 million dollar project price tag. Unsuccessful votes also occurred three years in a row from 2007-09.

On Tuesday Milton Fire Chief Nick Marique continued to voice optimism that residents would back the expense, saying in a recent interview construction costs were only going to go up in a town that values its first responder services.

Marique and planners reduced the station's square footage by 25 percent and took away some of the bells and whistles prior to this year's vote, reducing the costs.

Opponents to the new station said it was more than the department needed and too expensive, but in the end voters decided, with time running out on donated land where the stationhouse will be located, it was also time to fund the proposal.