Residents who stayed until the very end of the Hicksville Board of Fire Commissioners meeting Wednesday night regarding a proposal to expand Station 2 received some unexpected news. After a nearly three-hour meeting, which included a presentation of revised plans and reasons why expanding the firehouse is a necessity at this time, Robert Dwyer, chairman of the board, made an announcement that the fire district would look into obtaining part of the Ronald Avenue sump from the Town of Oyster Bay in order to construct a new stationhouse.

During the meeting, some 150 residents reviewed a presentation by H2M Group - the architectural and engineering firm with environmental expertise retained by the district, describing the tight, unsafe conditions at the firehouse and the reasons why an expansion was necessary. H2M also presented the results of a study conducted to evaluate the feasibility of building a new firehouse on alternative sites within the community.

According to H2M, more than 30 alternate sites were looked at in the hopes of finding one that would be appropriate. Among those areas considered were 13 brownfield sites and various Town of Oyster Bay and privately owned locations. While several of the brownfield sites would work in terms of size and access to and from major roadways, they were determined to be outside of the station's membership area and/or unavailable to the fire department at this time.

In considering the possibility of acquiring private property, H2M looked into such sites as the Hicksville Water District's Miller Road and Beth Road Pump Stations; a KeySpan site at Old Country and New South Roads; and a piece of former church-owned property at Old Country and New South Roads. While these sites were also adequate in terms of size and accessibility, they too were out of the station's membership area, not for sale and/or too close to the fire department's East Marie Street headquarters.

As for the feasibility of obtaining Town of Oyster Bay property, sites such as Triangle Park at Plainview and Old Country Roads; the Recharge Basin at New South Road; and the park at Haverford and Cambridge Roads, were also considered. While these sites too proved to be acceptable in terms of size, like the brownfields and private lots studied, they too were either outside the stationhouse's membership area or not for sale.

The fire department, however, does have one possibility: the Town of Oyster Bay Recharge Basin at Ronald Avenue and Miller/Vincent Roads. Following a 15-minute break at the end of the meeting, at which time the board went into executive session, Dwyer announced that the fire district would approach the town regarding use of the site, which meets the fire district's needs in terms of membership location, size and response time.

"The town said the property wasn't available at the time," said Dwyer. "Now we are going to go back and ask them to reconsider letting us use the sump. These neighbors are telling us to move there. At this point it is the only other site acceptable."

The board's decision to look into the sump came in the wake of a public comment period in which many residents opposed a revised proposal calling for the demolition of the current building in order to erect a new two-story building measuring 33-foot high with a full basement, first and second floor and two bays.

However, prior to Wednesday's meeting, this particular town-owned site was considered to be unavailable to the fire district.

In a Jan. 13 letter to Joe Mollta of H2M, Richard Lenz and Richard Betz, commissioner and deputy commissioner of the town's public works department, respectively, stated, "At this time, the Town of Oyster Bay is denying this request. [We] do not recommend that this site be built at this location. The surrounding residents may be impacted and would not be in favor of it. Also, the drainage would need to be re-evaluated."

In an interview with the Hicksville News this week, Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto stated that he had no knowledge of the letter until it was brought to his attention during a Feb. 13 meeting with Ronald Avenue residents Terry Teitjen, her husband, Gary, and Briggs Street resident Adam Kounas.

"That letter went out without my knowledge. It was beyond the scope of the writer[s] to make that conclusion on the matter. They did not have the authority to arrive at such conclusions or to speak for myself or the town board," said Venditto. "I called the [Feb. 13] meeting for the purpose of making it clear to the residents that I rescinded the letter, deemed it to be null and advised the fire department of that as well."

Venditto added that the issue of using the town's sumps comes up from time to time, mostly for the use of athletic fields. "In virtually every case, these sumps tend to abut residential communities and typically the outcry from residents is that we not disturb their area by using the sump. [Therefore,] the [public works] commissioner gave what he thought was the standard response. That may or may not be the case. If the fire department wants to know about [using the] Ronald Avenue [sump], they have been told to direct their inquiry to me."

According to Dwyer, that is exactly what the board of fire commissioners plans to do, but, should that site not pan out, the fire district is "back to square one" in terms of working with the current site of Station 2. "We have to address the safety concerns of our firemen. It's what we have to do and I hope everyone will realize that," said Dwyer.

In support of the project, several residents expressed their appreciation and gratitude to the volunteer firefighters. Among them was Pam McGeough, wife of former chief Patrick McGeough, who said, "These guys give their all to respond to the community that needs them. They give 100 percent, 365 days a year - blackouts, hurricanes, snowstorms. I am angry because I feel like this is a personal attack on these guys."

Ronald Avenue resident RoseMarie Ehrich, however, said the problem was never with the firefighters, but rather the proposed plans themselves. "My neighbors and I appreciate and respect the firefighters," she said, adding, "I have gone over these plans with a fine-toothed comb and have always tried to remain open-minded, but I have always come back to the same conclusion. The size of the property, the parcel of land, does not support these plans. A building this size does not belong in a residential neighborhood. It is my opinion that Station 2 remain exactly as it is."

According to Ehrich, the department needs to "Reconsider the list of alternate sites or find others. When a new location is determined to be suitable, perhaps then it will be more reasonable to build a state-of-the-art firehouse."

As of press time, Dwyer said the board of fire commissioners was planning to reach out to Supervisor Venditto in the hopes of meeting with him in the upcoming weeks to discuss this matter. A second public meeting will take place at the end of March in an effort to accommodate those residents who were unable to attend Wednesday's meeting.

Overall, Dwyer said, the fire district is committed to gaining back the trust of the community. "I hate to see the neighbors mad at us and us mad at the neighbors. That's the worst thing for a community," said Dwyer. "We had such a good rapport before. We need to get the trust of the community and the harmony back to the neighborhood. I hope people see that we committed to every effort to find a viable solution and that we can relieve some of the tension and distrust that we have here."

Constructed in 1956, Station 2 is located at the intersection of Briggs Street, Woodbury Avenue and Ronald Avenue. The firehouse currently houses the department's Independent Engine & Hose Company 2 and has approximately 30 active members. In 2003, Station 2 responded to 568 alarms, including 319 fire and fire related emergencies and 249 rescue/ambulance calls.