ROCKPORT, Maine — Voters may be asked in June whether to buy land adjacent to the West Rockport Fire Station to allow for the possible expansion of the facility in several years.
The select board is scheduled to meet Friday to vote on adding an article to the June 14 ballot to ask voters whether they want to spend $99,000 from surplus to purchase the property at 647 Rockland St., which is also known as Route 90.
The property, which consists of 2.3 acres with a Cape Cod-style house, is owned by the estate of Linwood Thorndike, who died in July 2014 in the home where he had been born 72 years earlier.
The West Rockport fire station sits on about one-fifth acre at the intersection of Routes 17 and 90.
Fire Chief Jason Peasley said if voters approve the article, no expansion would occur for at least four to five years.
The current fire station has deficiencies, the chief said. There is only 3 inches of space to the rear and 3 inches to the front when a truck is parked inside the station, which was built in the 1960s, the chief said. The roof also is in need of replacement.
The bay next to Route 17 is so close to the intersection that when the light heading west on the road is red, it can take the truck a couple minutes to get out if traffic is backed up during a weekday afternoon, Peasley said.
The price for the property is also very good, he said, pointing out that this was the wish of the Thorndike family. Linwood Thorndike had always been a supporter of the department, the chief said.
The land is assessed by the town at $142,900.