By CHRIS LINDAHL
@cmlindahl
Daily Hampshire Gazette
SOUTHAMPTON — For the second time in eight months, voters will be asked Tuesday to approve an override of Proposition 2½ that would provide $135,000 for a second shift at the Fire Department.
That is one of 16 articles at a special Town Meeting at 7 p.m. in the William E. Norris School cafeteria. Most are routine fiscal housekeeping matters.
The last article on the warrant is the $135,000 override to add another seven hours of staffing for the Fire Department, which is needed for the town to comply with an agreement officials signed with the state in 2013 to upgrade from basic to paramedic-level ambulance service.
A similar proposal was approved by Town Meeting voters in May but the override needed to pay for the added staffing was defeated at the June election.
The fire station now is staffed by firefighters, who are also emergency medical technicians or paramedics, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. During evening and overnight hours, the department functions on a standby basis, with firefighters responding to calls from their homes.
The second shift would allow staffing from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., meaning that firefighters at the station would respond directly to calls during those hours.
“We will be at your house quicker and protect the quality of life that would otherwise be lost,” Fire Chief John Workman said. “It you think about it as insurance — it’s good insurance.”
Workman noted that if the override is approved, his department’s budget would still be $50,000 less than that of Granby, while providing four more hours of coverage compared to that town.
Another article would allow the town to acquire temporary easements from property owners for a state-funded sidewalk project on Route 10. The “Safe Routes to School” project aims to increase the safety of students walking to the William E. Norris School.
If the article is approved, town officials would ask landowners for easements.
Other articles include approving $16,000 in Community Preservation Act funds to construct a roof on the Conant Park pavilion, and $5,000 for a new prisoner entry at the police station. Prisoners now use the same entrance as the public, which violates a state Department of Public Health requirement.
The money would be taken from the police station’s gas and electric fund, which Town Administrator Heather Budrewicz said has a projected surplus due to energy savings.
Chris Lindahl can be reached at [email protected].
