MARLBORO – Residents of Fire District No. 3 in Marlboro appear to have rejected a proposal put forth by the fire district’s Board of Fire Commissioners to construct a new $6.98 million firehouse at 393 Route 79 in the Morganville section of the township.
A referendum on the construction proposal was held on Oct. 13.
As of the afternoon of Oct. 15, the vote count was 150 “no” to 105 “yes,” according to Christine Cromer, the secretary to the Board of Fire Commissioners.
Mail-in ballots were being accepted through Oct. 16 and would count toward the total. A final tally was expected to be available on Oct. 17, Cromer said.
Fire District No. 3 is the northern portion of Marlboro in the Wickatunk, Spring Valley and Pleasant Valley portions of the township.
The fire district encompasses portions of Route 79 from Wyncrest Road to the Marlboro-Aberdeen Township border, and portions of Texas Road, Route 520 and Conover Road.
Fire District No. 3 is served by the volunteer Morganville Fire Company, which was created in March through the merger of the Morganville Independent Fire Company and the Morganville Volunteer Fire Company.
In the wake of the results which appeared to show the referendum being defeated, Board of Fire Commissioners Treasurer John Turi said, “Our main objective is to provide quality fire protection.
“Obviously, the results of the referendum were not what we hoped, but we are more than prepared to adjust in order to serve Fire District No. 3.
“We received a lot of feedback from the public which we will definitely take into consideration for future planning.
“We are happy to say the merger of the Morganville Independent Fire Company and the Morganville Volunteer Fire Company into the Morganville Fire Company is still going strong, and we will continue our efforts to consolidate,” Turi said.
“The merger alone has already saved us $50,000 annually and we are aiming to increase that to $75,000 annually in 2019. Again, the main goal is to protect and serve our community, and we will continue to do so.
“We thank everyone who came out to support us and we will use all of the feedback from this experience to better our efforts for Morganville,” he said.
The referendum proposed the construction of a new building to house the new Morganville Fire Company. Construction would have taken place on the property at 393 Route 79. The firehouse at that address was the home of the former Morganville Independent Fire Company.
The fire commissioners said that building, a 7,880-square-foot structure, would have been used until the new firehouse had been completed. At that time the existing building would have been demolished and additional parking would have been created.
Plans for the proposed firehouse included 14,438 square feet of space on the first floor, including room for vehicles, office space, storage space, a kitchen and locker rooms. The second floor, with 2,379 square feet of space, would have contained a lounge and two rehabilitation centers for firefighters, according to Turi.
Fire district representatives said a resident in Fire District No. 3 whose home is assessed at $300,000 currently pays $141 annually in fire district taxes. If the referendum had passed, that would have increased to $181.
Fire district representatives said a resident in Fire District No. 3 whose home is assessed at $500,000 currently pays $235 annually in fire district taxes. If the referendum had passed, that would have increased to $302.
