Village Election Q&A

F.D. Bond

Q: Do you support the Fire Department bond referendum for $21 million to rebuild the N. Centre Avenue and Maple Avenue firehouses? Yes or no — and why?

A: No, I do not support the Fire Department bond referendum for $21 million. But I also don’t think the current administration should have abdicated its responsibility instead of making the necessary decisions.

This should not be an all-or-nothing discussion. It is clear from the report on our firehouses that there are situations that need to be addressed immediately and some that could be handled over time. 

The bond vote allows the administration to avoid taking leadership on the challenging issues and it puts the Fire Department in a bad light with the very community it serves. 

Generations of village boards before this one have always made these types of decisions. Of course the residents should be informed and have a voice on all things concerning our village departments, but they also should expect their elected officials to have insight and take initiative and responsibility.

- Nancy Howard, RVC United Party

A: Over the last two plus decades, this village has spent next to nothing on our municipal buildings, including our firehouses. Look at Village Hall and ask yourself why the money set aside in 2002 to refurbish it was not spent when times were good and costs were much less. In November 2007 the lowest bid to paint just the exterior was nearly $300,000, and it wasn’t prudent to spend that much money and raise taxes during the Great Recession to do it. The problems at the firehouses, police headquarters, and 110 Maple are the same, or worse. Our volunteer firefighters do more for us than we realize and they deserve better facilities.