Taxpayers should question exactly what the last expansion accomplished and what has changed since then that they need yet another. Although, from what I am hearing, many folks may  not show up for the meeting because they already know how they are going to vote.

First, it is sad that the NNTP folks are discouraging people from attending the informational meeting ... but that is par for the course.

The truth is the project is needed and actually the price tag is reasonable .. considering the other option - building a completely new station would cost 3 times more.

Finally - I am encouraged that  District # 5 residents in Guilderland and Princetown recognize the need for the expansion ... and are planning to vote YES in HUGE numbers.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

First, it is sad that the NNTP folks are discouraging people from attending the informational meeting ... but that is par for the course.

The truth is the project is needed and actually the price tag is reasonable .. considering the other option - building a completely new station would cost 3 times more.

Finally - I am encouraged that  District # 5 residents in Guilderland and Princetown recognize the need for the expansion ... and are planning to vote YES in HUGE numbers.

Who exactly is discouraging people from attending this meeting?  From all I see, nobody has said to not go to the meeting, just some have stated that it is their opinion that is way too much spending at a time when the residents of the district cannot afford it.  If anything, those who oppose it would WANT people to go to the meeting to get the true facts instead of the drivel that is coming out on this board.

OF COURSE....GO TO THE MEETING

They should all attend the meeting and get all the information from the fire dept. Perhaps it will pass. Who knows? All I can say is that the folks that I have spoken to say they are dead against it and will tell other folks in the district to vote no.

People today are much different then they were just a few years ago. From the national level all the way down in government, people are 'paying attention'. People are seeking the truth and not believing everything that comes down the pike.....be it the media or anything else.

It's an extraordinary electorate living in extraordinary times.

Look, this is the biggest dead duck since the shooting gallery at the Altamont Fair. It loses bad. The firemen are relying on the democraps (as usual) to bring out the big spender vote but this year it aint' gonna' happen.

I don't believe it is a "dead duck" -- I was skeptical about the proposal when  I first heard about it but I went and had some long conversations with volunteers from District #5 and some other folks -----

I am NOT someone who encourages more government spending ..but I am convinced that this project is absolutely needed and is a good long-term investment in public safety.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

I don't believe it is a "dead duck" -- I was skeptical about the proposal when  I first heard about it but I went and had some long conversations with volunteers from District #5 and some other folks -----

I am NOT someone who encourages more government spending ..but I am convinced that this project is absolutely needed and is a good long-term investment in public safety.

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA....are you serious about yourself?

He never met a tax he didn't want.

Quoted from senders

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA....are you serious about yourself?

I am serious .. and you obviously do NOT know me or know my position on every issue.  You ASSUME you know  my position on every issue because you and the other nayboobs are quite prejudiced that way -- but you really don't have any clue at all.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

I am serious .. and you obviously do NOT know me or know my position on every issue.  You ASSUME you know  my position on every issue because you and the other nayboobs are quite prejudiced that way -- but you really don't have any clue at all.

Honestly, maybe all we know is what we've read on here, but you haven't exactly been lining upon the "let's get government out of our lives" side of (m)any argumens, so where is it that we should expect that to be changed?

Quoted from rampage

Honestly, maybe all we know is what we've read on here, but you haven't exactly been lining upon the "let's get government out of our lives" side of (m)any argumens, so where is it that we should expect that to be changed?

Many others who post here make all kinds of statements claiming that they know my opinion on different issues --- for the most part they are absolutely wrong.

For example, I have been accused of being a huge fan of President Obama -- when the fact is that I did NOT vote for him EVER .. nor have I voted for a Democratic candidate for US President EVER in my life.   I am a life-long Democrat but the people my party has nominated for President from 1980 onward ... were far too liberal or IMHO not suitable to hold the highest office in the nation.

Others believe that two charlatans (Smoking Bananas and Gravel Gertie) are me posting under a different user name --- and that is ABSOLUTELY FALSE --- as I only post under this one user name.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

I am serious .. and you obviously do NOT know me or know my position on every issue.  You ASSUME you know  my position on every issue because you and the other nayboobs are quite prejudiced that way -- but you really don't have any clue at all.

NO I dont know you.....I was asking a DIRECT question to someone I DON'T KNOW, based upon previous/current posts.....AND...shhhh,,,get this---I DONT CARE WHO YOU ARE...

as I'm sure you don't care who I am....

I dont even care if you answer it or not.....you usually never answer anything I ask you anyhow....

Quoted from senders

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA....are you serious about yourself?

He never was against any new program, had any real questions as to WHY WHY WHY WHY there is always new need for a new THIS, THAT, or OTHER THING! REMS, FIRE HALL GOODIES, METROPLEX. Then he claims he is a "moderate" and all that rubbish, which makes you wonder if HE IS THE MODERATE WING OF THE DEMOCRAP PARTY, WHAT THE HELL DOES THE LIBERAL WING WANT TO DO WITH YOUR MONEY???????????????????????????????????

Quoted Text

Pine Grove firehouse upgrade sought
Plan for renovation and spacious addition would cost $3.5 million
Sunday, October 16, 2011
By Justin Mason (Contact)
Gazette Reporter

ROTTERDAM — Firefighters with Rotterdam’s Pine Grove fire district are hoping taxpayers will fund an overhaul of their aging firehouse next year.
The 30-member volunteer fire department covering parts of Princetown, Rotterdam and Guilderland is advancing a $3.5 million plan that would renovate the existing station and add 4,200 square feet of space. Fire Commissioner Herb LeTarte III said the project would be the first substantial renovation since a two-bay garage was added in 1984 and only the second since the building was originally constructed.
“But it hasn’t been changed dramatically at all since it was built in 1970,” he said.
LeTarte said there is a lengthy list of issues with the station. For instance, the building isn’t compliant with the Americans with Disabilities act, has its electric utilities located within a flood plain and lacks the space to accommodate modern equipment.
The cost to renovate the station on Dunnsville Road is close to $1.9 million, he said, and the renovation wouldn’t do anything to resolve the issues with space.
“There’s nothing frivolous in the package,” he said.
The project would construct a new bay that would fit up to six vehicles. The new apparatus bay would also house gear lockers, a compressor, and an air-pack fill station. The project would also add showers and a maintenance workroom for cleaning equipment.
The existing fire station would get a new public entrance lobby along the east side, while the existing truck bays on the southwest corner will be dedicated to housing emergency rescue vehicles.
If approved, construction would be done in two phases so that the station could remain in service. The first phase is tentatively planned for April, with construction expected to wrap up in 2013.
The cost would be bonded over 25 years. The cost to taxpayers varies depending on the town where they reside.
Rotterdam residents could see an increase of about 77 cents per $1,000 of property value. A resident with a $200,000 home could expect a tax increase of about $154 per year, according to the district estimates.
There are 1,485 homes in the Pine Grove district. LeTarte said the district’s population is roughly twice what it was when the station was first built and is due to get larger with the construction of several new developments.
Last year, Pine Grove firefighters responded to 183 calls.
So far this year, the department has answered more than 200 calls, including 60 responses during Tropical Storm Irene in late August.
The district will conduct a public hearing at the station starting at 7 p.m. Monday. The vote is scheduled at the station between 6 and 9 p.m. Oct. 25.
LeTarte acknowledged the vote is coming at a time when residents haven’t been very supportive of paying additional taxes. In December 2010, Rotterdam voters resoundingly defeated a referendum that would have created a special tax district to support Rotterdam Emergency Medical Services Inc., the town’s not-for-profit ambulance company.
Supervisor Frank Del Gallo’s 2012 town budget proposal carries a 2.83 percent increase in taxes, while cutting a total of 16 jobs. He’s warned that the town could face a double-digit tax increase if those jobs are restored.....................>>>>............................>>>>.........................http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2011/oct/16/1016_firehouse/