Council Backs Plan to Renovate Dewberry Firehouse

Bethlehem City Council informally backed Mayor John Callahan’s plan to redirect the proceeds from the 2011 ¾-mill tax increase toward renovation of the Dewberry Avenue firehouse in a conversion to an EMS station.

Through an informal poll and discussion at Monday night’s budget hearing, council also supported the mayor’s plan to continue the dedicated tax in 2012 to pay for an overhaul of the city’s 911 emergency telephone system.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s a public safety tax,” said Council President Robert Donchez. “As long as this is dedicated to public safety, I’m going to support it,”

The council president said he was “disappointed” with the – which was – “but the decision has been made.”

“I believe we cannot let a building sit idle for a year or two years,” Donchez said.

Some who opposed the firehouse closure tried to convince council to withhold financial support for the Dewberry renovation project. But Councilman Eric Evans said to do this would have been like playing “D.C.-style politics” and create government gridlock in Bethlehem, something the people in the city do not want.

A year ago, council with a new ¾-mill dedicated tax for the purpose of building a new EMS center on Illick’s Mill Road and buying a fire pumper. But neither goal has been accomplished in 2011, primarily because the construction bids to build the new building came in at nearly double the city’s expectations. The project was shelved temporarily until Callahan came up with this alternative, which he has said will save the city nearly $1 million in construction costs.

“I support that move,” Evans told fellow council members. “The primary mission wasn’t construction. It was to provide more space for ambulances and EMS.”

With the Easton Avenue fire station less than a mile-and-a-half away, this plan accomplishes the goal without gutting fire protection and most likely improving ambulance response times to parts of the North Side, Evans said.

Five members of council said they agreed with Evans’ analysis. Only David DiGiacinto dissented, saying he questioned the savings and wondered how much longer the city can afford to pay to operate its own 911 emergency communications center.

Council will hold its fifth and final scheduled budget hearing on Thursday night. It currently plans to adopt a 2012 budget during its regular meeting on December 21.