Fire Department Seeks $7M Bond

The Point Lookout-Lido Fire District will seek voter approval Tuesday to float a $7 million bond to restore and update its facilities.

Projects would include demolishing the Ye Olde Firehouse and replacing it with a one-story fire district/command center.

The Ye Olde Firehouse is 80-plus years old. While some residents are opposed to knocking down the historic building, Fire Commissioner Chas Thompson said it "serves no use firematically."

"It's cost prohibitive to keep the building," he added.

In the proposed headquarters building, they would add a second floor for shower and other amenities for volunteer firefighters. A new community room would also be included.

"When these buildings were building the 50s and 60s, firetrucks were smaller with open cabs," Thompson said of the need for more space.

This is the first bond the district has floated since 1973 and Thompson said they have not increased fire taxes in eight years.

The district operates on an $881,000 budget. 

If the bond vote is approved, the district is seeking to begin construction early next summer. The project would take approximately three years to complete. The project would cost approximately $7.5 million, with the remaining half-million coming from the Building and Grounds Capital Reserve Fund.

The vote will be held Tuesday from 4 to 9 p.m. at both district headquarters and Lido Fire House.

All qualified voters of the fire district residing east of the State Parkway Bridge approach will vote at Lido-Point Lookout Fire District Headquarters, 102 Lido Boulevard (Lido Boulevard and Hewlett Avenue).

All qualified voters of the District residing west of the State Parkway Bridge approach will vote at the Lido Fire House of the Lido and Point Lookout Fire District, Lido Boulevard and Regent Drive in Lido Beach.