"Public meeting on new Setauket firehouse"
by Justin Petrone

The Three Village Times - July 08, 2004

...text from article below...

The Setauket Fire Department will be holding a public meeting tonight, Thursday, July 8, at 7:30 pm at the main firehouse on Route 25A to announce plans to replace its present firehouse with one that is better suited for its needs, and to unveil a municipal nond that will cover the costs of the future reconstruction.

"The board of fire commissioners are contemplating constructing a new headquarters, and we feel that it is appropriate at this point for the public to get involved and to see if they are receptive to our plans. To see will they like it, or will they not like it," Ron Di Biasi, the department's district manager, said.

"We plan to give the community a thorough presentation to the plans, why we need a new firehouse and what the cost will be," said Anthony Parletore, one of the department's commissioners, who declined to comment on just how much the construction would cost.

The fire department has already moved forward with the construction by accepting the plans of Setauket architect Peter Caradonna, who has turned the department on to building "green," creating a building that is self-sustaining in terms of energy use, as well as including a small community park on the property.

"We are quite excited about the construction, and about having the chance to build a sustainable building for the future," said Parlatore.

Di Biasi said the building would be more conservative in terms of energy use than older buildings and will be constructed to use less power.

"We are trying to look 20 to 30 years down the line, when fossil fuels may be quite diminished," he said.

The actual cost of the project or the bond have yet to be released, although commissioners said they would be discussed during the meeting. Di Biasi said they also have several different plans to discuss with the public. "We have a couple different building scenarios to choose from," he said.

While it will be discussed at length during the meeting, it is believed that the building, the last section of which was built in 1939, is showing its age. According to an earlier story by The Village TIMES HERALD, the building suffers from electrical problems and space issues which continue to impede the activities of the fire department. Part of the older section of the building is also framed with wood.

Parletore said early-20th-century cottages that sit on the property facing Old Town Road possibly would be removed to accommodate the construction, but if a historical society wished to obtain the structures, the fire department would be willing to donate them.

"If anybody wants those buildings, we'd be happy to donate them," Parlatore said.

If approved, this would be the second major renovation for the department in five years. In 1999 it began work on its station on Nicolls Road, which was completed in 2002.