vision2020
Re: Fire Station Question
The question regarding insurance rates is a good one. If
we do not build the new station, will my insurance rates go up? Or will
only those residents outside of the needed response time have their rates go
up? If I am paying x amount for fire insurance now, why will it increase
when for me the location of the station is mute?
As for impact fees, I feel the question goes farther than the
simple idea of impact fees. When the various city groups ( I.E.: council,
P&Z, etc) allow increased growth, the growth impacts all of us. Some
growth reduces tax burdens, some growth increases it. The need for a new
station as a result of expansion northward should have been considered and been
part of the planning all the way along, and yes impact fees to support part of
the construction should be considered, with the rest of the cost supported by
tax bonds. The need for the station would not exist without the
growth!
Finally, the idea that fire is limited by boundaries, or that
response to a fire is based on location is unseemly. When there is an
accident on 95N, I've seen both rural and city fire trucks respond. And
that is how it should be! Fire knows no civil boundaries, rather it is a
communal problem. The need for a new station to serve the north of the
city and the county is a communal need and should be shared by all.
John
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