Blue Point FD To Hold Public Meeting For $2.2M Bond

BLUE POINT, NY — The Blue Point Fire Department will hold an informational meeting on Tuesday evening, one week before residents will vote on a $2.2 million bond for repairs on the station.

Dennis McCarthy, fire commissioner of the department, told Patch that the almost 100-year-old station, located at 205 Blue Point Avenue, needs crucial maintenance in order to continue operations.

"What we're doing here is just maintaining what we have," said McCarthy, "We've tried to maintain it, and we have done the best we can on the limited funds."

The meeting will take place at the station at 7 p.m. Architect will present all the building's needs to residents, McCarthy said, such as concerns with part of the roof and the basement.

The exterior south wall, he said, is peeling, in "bad shape" and "can't hold on", he said.

While the station's annual improvement budget is usually around $1 million, McCarthy said something bigger must be done to prevent the station from falling apart.

"We're not doing an expansion, not adding any bells and whistles," he said. "You're not going to see a shining pearl of a brand-new firehouse."

McCarthy, who has been with the station for more than 40 years, said that one of its last big "expansion" was installing an elevator, as part of a mandate to provide accessibility to the second floor.

"When you speak with the architects, and if you happen to attend the meeting, you'll hear that they really don't expect they really don't expect the buildings of this type just to be able to last forever," he said. "You have to you have to do major repairs to them."

The special election will take place at the fire station on Tuesday, March 14.