Signing Failure Delays Vote On Proposed Orrington Firehouse

The failure to sign a warrant by Orrington's Town Selectmen has delayed the vote on a proposed $3.5 million dollar public safety building.

It's been a hot topic in my town for months now. At issue is a proposal that would allow for the construction of a new combination fire/police station. The current firehouse is old and has many code violations, so whether the town needs a new building is not really the issue. I mean, firefighters have to pull the trucks out of the building to work on top of them, because the ceiling in the old firehouse is too low.

What is at issue is whether the town needs a $3.5 million dollar building, or whether a less elaborate structure could be built for less money. Proponents say that they already have the money and the land, so it's all set to go once it's approved. But detractors worry whether the running and upkeep on such a building would increase taxes. The proposed location is on Center Drive, but some feel that's too close to the school and would rather see it on River Road (Route 15) near the PERC plant.

A town meeting was planned for October 23rd in Orrington, that would start with a question-and-answer period, and would then end with a vote. The date was set and mailings went out to every resident, informing them of the open meeting. However, there was one little hiccup.

Town officials neglected to sign a warrant that's necessary in advance of the meeting. Without that signature, any vote would be considered illegal. While officials did sign a document, it was the warrant for a meeting that had been planned for September, but was postponed to October.

So, now they start the process all over again. A new date will be set at next week's Selectmen's meeting and we'll all await those notifications in our mailboxes. And both sides of the discussion have a little more time to make their case.