CABOT – Select board chair, Michael Hogan, moved discussion of a petition asking the town to vote on construction of a new fire station, to the top of the agenda, following public comments, at the Monday, Oct. 6 Cabot select board meeting.
He then read from the petition signed by over 100 Cabot voters, asking for the vote for or against construction of a new volunteer fire department building at 2466 Main St.
Hogan then laid out a timeline of how the town got to where it is now. The process began in February of 2018 when the town purchased a property at 2466 Main St. for $95,000, he said.
The next month, the Cabot Public Safety Working Group was formed to look into addressing the most serious violations of the fire station. Public meetings were held and designs looked at.
In December 2022, the board awarded a contract for demolition of 2466 Main St., and in June 2023, a working group got together to design a new public safety building.
Just a month later, on July 10, 2023, Cabot suffered substantial damage from flash flooding and 18 days later the State of Vermont condemned the existing fire station.
Planning began immediately on a temporary station and a new public safety building, with the understanding that FEMA was committed to help fund both buildings.
In December 2023, the select board approved a design concept for a new public safety building and demolition of the old fire station
On April 15, 2024, a new temporary station opened. “After going through a winter of parking vehicles in various places, the temporary station opened up,” said Hogan
Oct 18, 2024, USDA awarded the town a $5.1M grant to help fund a portion of the new building, and the town signed contracts for site planning and environmental review
Cabot initiated an appeal process with FEMA, assisted by the State of Vermont, in June 2025, based on FEMA’s pushing back on their commitment to fund demolition of the fire station, the public service building and the temporary station. That appeal is still in process, with hope of having a decision shortly, he said.
Hogan said he’d heard from Sen. Sanders’ office the day before, saying they were ready and willing to help the town if FEMA rejects the appeal.
Hogan then asked Mike Tarrant, the town attorney, to speak on issues raised by the petition. Tarrant noted the petition was advisory and the board could choose to hold a special meeting for a binding or advisory vote, but the timeline for bringing the question to voters at the November 4 election was likely closed.
Doug Cooke asked about a previous vote on a new public safety building and was advised there was a vote, with the outcome being no, against construction of a new public safety building building, in a close vote.
Board member R.D. Eno said rumors are going around about why the town can’t keep the fire department in the present, temporary location.
Fire Chief Dean Deasy explained that the temporary building would require a bigger water line to support a sprinkler system as required by National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) specifications. An agreement to use the temporary building without a sprinkler system runs out April 26 and would require an extension.
Discussions included some about the process for warning various types of meetings and how to gather town input at the March Town Meeting, or earlier, and the potential costs of building a new facility versus upgrading the existing one.
Questions were raised about whether the cost of upgrading the temporary facility would be less than building a new public safety building and whether it could meet the fire department’s needs.
Questions about the suitability of the two sites were also raised.
Perhaps of most concern to many, was how the decision would be made to upgrade the current temporary facility, or to build a new facility. Many expressed concern that it was an important enough decision that voters should make the call, while others suggested the select board had the necessary financial, public infrastructure and fire safety expertise to be trusted with the decision.
There was not a resolution of that question, though at least one member of the select board suggested they would take an advisory vote as binding on their own decision about the options.
After considerable discussion, there was general consensus that the town’s fire department volunteers perform an important service that is valued by residents.
The board agreed to investigate legal questions regarding property use restrictions and to provide more information to the public about the fire department building options.
After more than an hour of discussion, Hogan said he wasn’t sure what would happen next, then thanked members of the public for coming to the meeting.
In other business, the board heard from Joe Hebert, with a request to appropriate $10,000 toward milfoil eradication work at Joe’s pond.
Work to replace a bridge on Lovely Road was approved, with bids to be opened at the November 4 meeting.
Moving the town’s accounting from Quickbooks to NEMERC was approved at a cost Amy Monahan estimated at around $7,000.
Gary Gulka requested approval and was authorized to proceed with having the U.S. Geological Survey install a stream gauging station on town property to monitor river levels.
More than two and a half hours after it began, the meeting came to a close.
Editor’s note: an earlier version of this story failed to indicate the petition requests a vote on the project to construct the new public safety building.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
