On Monday, January 12, Milford City Council approved a conditional use request from Carlisle Fire Company to convert a building on Cedar Beach Road into a substation that would serve Southeast Milford. The request was to combine three parcels and to create a cross-access easement across one parcel to benefit the main parcel. Planning Commission approved the request with a vote of six to zero.
“We started this process more than a year ago when a different person owned the property,” Duane Fox of the Carlisle Fire Company said. “As we went through, we found we had a zoning issue because the county says it is commercial, but the city says it is residential. That is what created the need for the conditional use. We are trying to establish a substation to provide the community with better response times in what we call the dog leg, the southeast part of our territory.”
In addition, the new property gives the fire company direct access to Route 1, Fox said. Because the company did not own the property initially, they didn’t want to spend a lot of money and find out it would not work, but now that they own the property, they feel it will be beneficial.
“We met with the people from Fork Landing, and they all seemed to be okay with this,” Fox said. “WE bought the property from George Luff and Associates, so they are okay with a substation being there. We’ve had conversations with the O’Day’s who own rental properties there. One concern you may have as well, some asked us if we planned to put a fire siren there. At this time, we do not have plans to do that, but it is owned by Carlisle Fire Company and if, down the road, we find that is a necessity, we might have one there, but right now, we have no plans to do so.”
During public comment, Scott Welch, owner of Mohawk Electrical Systems which is located very close to the property, spoke in favor of the request.
“We were excited to hear that they were looking at purchasing it because we see fire trucks going by at all times when they are going out to Route 1 and we know they have to get across somehow,” Welch said. “I would prefer to have Carlisle as a neighbor than a housing development. Their calls are growing greatly, and I think this is a good thing.”
No one spoke against the request.
“I would like to, as mayor, make a statement that this has been needed for quite some time for Carlisle to have a presence in the southeast part of town,” Mayor Todd Culotta said. “It is our fastest growing area and accessibility is everything. So, I’m excited that they’ve taken initiative to secure property, to secure a building and have the ability to get to fires much quicker. They’re one of the busiest fire departments in the state and they cover more than just our city, the y cover surrounding areas as well. So, this is a great thing and I am fully in favor of it.”
Council voted by roll call.
“I vote yes and I want to repeat what the mayor said,” Councilman Dan Marabello said. “This shows that we have a vision for the future. The city is growing and we’re being proactive which is a good sign for our city. It is not going to change the neighborhood adversely, has a lot of support and I’m just grateful for the work the fire department does now and will continue to do in the future.”
Councilwoman Madula Kalesis voted yes as it met requirements and would be a good addition to the city while Councilwoman Lori Connor voted yes for the same reasons as those who voted before her.
“I vote yes as it helps reduce response times and anything that helps our first responders do their jobs more efficiently, that is a good thing,” Councilwoman Nadia Zychal said.
Councilman Jason James voted yes as this had been a desire of council for many years and Councilman Michael Stewart voted yes for reasons stated.
“I vote yes for safety reason, because the fire department coming Northeast Front Street after the street reduced our road and it is now narrow could reduce response time,” Councilman Danny Perez said. “I think the fire department needs additional response time, so my answer is definitely yes.”
