By Carol Britton Meyer

After recently eliminating the Hull Redevelopment Authority property from its list of potential locations, the public safety building committee last week proposed town hall – where the police department and a fire department single-engine substation are currently situated – as a possible location for a new, expanded dual facility that would be brought up to today’s codes and public safety standards.

The committee named the property across Nantasket Avenue from the current Central Fire Station as the priority location for a new fire headquarters because the current site “is too small, beyond its useful life, and cannot be renovated,” according to project consultants, Committee Chair James N. Russo told The Hull Times in an interview. He is a former Hull firefighter from 1973-2002, serving 18 of those years as chief.

This area consists of three properties – the former 7-11 storefront, the current school bus lot, and the DiVito Realty office.

“The town has asked for appraisals on those three parcels, and until we have those in hand, we can’t determine if that’s a feasible option or what that might cost,” he said.

The viability of the town hall location depends on the results of cost estimates and site feasibility to be presented by the project consultant related to a potential renovation of the building for a new dual facility. Both projects are contingent on a town meeting vote of approval for the funding for whichever proposed projects ultimately move forward.

Once the appraisals are completed – expected in the next month or so – the committee will meet to discuss them and inform the select board and town manager of the results. Depending on the outcome, the committee plans to hold a series of public forums at different locations and times of the day and night so as many citizens as possible will have an opportunity to participate.

“We’ve still got a long way to go,” Russo said.

“We asked the consultants to cast a very wide net for potential sites for a new public safety facility, and they did. But the reality is that with our demographics and geography, we don’t have the luxury of putting one combined building anywhere in town and still, at least for fire and EMS services, come anywhere close to today’s national response standards,” Russo said.

Hull Fire Department’s longest response times currently are from A Street to Hull Village, according to Russo, and while they are within current standards, “the other side of the coin is that in order to move that station elsewhere, we’d have to consider increased response times.”

Russo said the committee feels strongest in favor of bringing the current town hall footprint up to code for a dual facility and building a new fire station headquarters at another location – preferably across the street from the current station – if either or both options prove to be feasible and cost-effective, contingent on voter approval.

Both the current fire and police department buildings need renovation, and town meeting voters in 2024 appropriated $150,000 to hire KBA Architects to study alternatives.

Central Fire Station at 671 Nantasket Avenue is more than 100 years old, and the police station has been in its current location on the first level of the municipal building since the late 1970s.

The fire department’s southernmost presence – commonly referred to as the Green Hill Station – has been part of town hall for decades; the Village Fire Station on Spring Street is used during storms and emergencies.

Russo noted that there are “a lot of mixed messages out there in the community, and I’d like to clarify that the committee members are not the decision-makers. We’re strictly a volunteer group of professionals and representatives from the select board, police and fire departments, and concerned taxpayers who all believe this is a critical need for the future,” he said. “Ultimately, we will put together all the information we gather, and nothing will happen until town meeting votes on a proposal. Voters have the ultimate say.”

Russo added that “we’re not dealing with a playground or a town swimming pool, but the delivery of police, fire, and EMS services to taxpayers, residents, and guests who come to our town. The police station is in deplorable condition, and our firefighters have done everything they can do to fix up the stations, but they need to be brought up to code.”

Inaccurate posts on social media make the committee’s work more challenging “because we have to correct faulty information at our meetings,” he said.

What it “boils down to,” according to Russo, “is that there are very few people who don’t agree that there’s a need, but now it’s a matter of how to address that need and how much the town is willing to spend to meet the needs of the future.”

Hull is no longer “that little bedroom community that rolls up its sidewalks on Labor Day,” he said. “There has been a great deal of construction during the last 30 years, and we have a major issue with density. For fire protection, it comes down to the department’s ability to arrive at the scene of a fire and to get it under control quickly. The buildings being so close together … all multiplies that risk.”

It’s not “just buildings we’re talking about, but the future of our public safety services for the next 50-75 years,” Russo said.

For more information on the project, visit the committee’s page on the town’s website, www.town.hull.ma.us/584/public-safety-building-committee.

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