Voters Turn Down Fire Dept.’s $7M Bond Proposal

This story was updated at 8:40 a.m. on 7/10/13.

Voters strongly opposed a $7 million bond that the Point Lookout-Lido Fire District proposed to restore and update its facilities Tuesday. 

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The finally tally, which came in late in the night after polls closed at 9 p.m., was 758 to 260 against the proposal.

If the bond was approved, the district planned to demolish the Ye Olde Firehouse and replace it was a one-story fire district/command center, as well as add a second floor for showers and other amenities for the volunteer firefighters at neighboring headquarters building.

The costs for these measures were estimated at $7.5 million, with the remaining half-million in costs covered by Building and Grounds Capital Reserve Funds. The district operates on a $881,000 budget.

The bond was the first the district floated in 40 years, said Commissioner Chas Thompson. Thompson said the vote was disappointing.

“This was a solid plan to set up the infrastructure of the Point Lookout-Lido Fire Department for the next fifty years,” he said. “We have been working tirelessly on this plan for the last two years and adapted the plan after Superstorm Sandy to meet the needs of the community in light of a large scale disaster.”  

Thompson said that for many years the first district has been financially prudent and will continue to be.  

“We will sit down and look at the results of the bond vote over the next few days and plan our course of action,” he said, adding that the district will continue to take input from all residents was they plan for the future.