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Letter to Editor
ShareQuestions abound about fire hall
Published: September 04, 2008 3:00 PMUpdated: September 04, 2008 6:30 PM
Dear editor,
In reference to the notice regarding Union Bay Improvement District’s planning for a new fire hall as presented in the September edition of Down By The Bay, I have a number of questions that require a response.
Kensington Island Property’s obligation in the Master Development Agreement 3.1(j) is to donate land between one and two acres for the construction of a fire hall, at a specific location acceptable to the Union Bay Improvement District fire department provided that the UBID fire department is serving the development.
At a minimum, and before UBID proceeds to commit spending a considerable amount of money, I believe it is necessary to provide ratepayers with the following information:
Specifically, what are the occupational health and safety requirements that appear to be driving the need for a new fire hall and new fire truck?
If KIP is to contribute land once their subdivision is built, how urgent is the need to build a fire hall now? Can we wait for KIP. If not, why not?
If a new fire hall is built before KIP makes its contribution, what becomes of their obligation to the community?
What will be the increased costs of taxes per household based on a per $100,000 of assessed value?
What are UBID’s plans regarding disposing of the existing fire hall and land to offset costs?
Finally, as UBID is required to present this proposal to the ratepayers for approval before committing taxpayers to a hefty capital expenditure and borrowing the funds, this information should be forthcoming before the annual meeting.
Before ratepayers can make an informed decision, they need to know the answers to the above questions and it is incumbent upon UBID to provide full and open disclosure.
Dave Molstad,
Union Bay
