Letter: Fire Station at Hickory Ridge a Bad Idea

The following letter was sent to the Amherst Town Council on February 5, 2024.

Locating the new town fire station at Hickory Ridge is a major mistake that generations of Amherst residents will have to live with. I urge you to reject this proposal from Town Hall for the following reasons:

   1.  Absence of any plan presented for public comment.  Dave Ziomek and the Planning Department promised years ago that a comprehensive plan for the use of Hickory Ridge would be developed.  No such plan exists.  Town Hall simply jumped to “fire station” with no public discussion.   

   2.  Locating a fire station at Hickory Ridge flies in the face of the results of a public survey by Town Hall.  Three years ago the town sought public input on the uses of Hickory Ridge through its website.  There was a strong response to this request.  A large majority favored affordable housing as the best use of the property that was not already allocated to conservation land or solar arrays.  No one suggested “fire station”.  What is the purpose of Town Hall baiting residents with these requests for input if they are simply ignored?

   3.  Amherst firefighters believe that the site is in a poor location to meet the needs of the community. It is simply not close enough to the center of town, the source of most calls to the Fire Department.  The last first chief, Tim Nelson, gave a very lukewarm endorsement indicating that Hickory Ridge was as far south as the fire station should be located.  The obvious, best location is where DPW is now located, a plan that has been on the books for years.
       
       4.  The new “plan” is to have DPW remain at its current site. However, that location does not offer DPW enough space for its current needs, never mind future needs.  Town Hall appears to acknowledge that a second site is needed, but is has yet to identify where that would be located.  Thus there really is no appropriate plan for either DPW or the fire station.

       5.  What would be an appropriate use of the Hickory Ridge site?  There is a great shortage of senior housing in Amherst.  We anticipate many seniors downsizing in the coming years and many will want to remain in Amherst.  Hickory Ridge is an ideal location for a mixed-use, senior residential development.  It could provide a location for a senior center on the first floor with residential apartments above.

    I beg you not to approve this mistaken attempt to address the needs of both of these important functions.  Please direct the Town Manager to site the fire station at the current DPW location and to find a more appropriate site for DPW.

John Hornik

John Hornik is a resident of Amherst and former chair of the Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust