July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
When pursuit of grants trumps logic (09/02/06)
Editorial
Sometimes, you just have to scratch your head and wonder.
In Dunkirk, some folks are pushing for a new fire station and JEMS base, which are not necessarily a bad idea.
Dunkirk's firehouse, at any rate, needs more space. It's a historic old building, but at the very least it needs an addition.
But instead of having a rational, thoughtful discussion about what should be done and what the town can afford, the grant chase has begun.
Lured by the idea of pain-free dollars from the state, otherwise sensible people have checked their good sense at the door.
As it stands now, the idea is to move the fire station and ambulance base from downtown Dunkirk to the town's industrial park. The idea, apparently, is to use the land to match the much-sought grant.
Meanwhile, the scope and scale of the project have grown.
Grant-funded projects have a way of doing that.
But let's just imagine the whole thing won approval from the powers-that-be tomorrow. What would be the outcome?
Three things for certain:
• The city of Dunkirk would have less land available for industrial development and the creation of new local jobs.
• The city of Dunkirk would have two more empty buildings - the old firehouse and JEMS base - downtown.
• And response times by the fire department would be longer for much of the community because the firehouse would have been relocated from the center to the edge of town.
Does that make sense?
It's a pretty goofy scenario; and if it seems familiar, it's because that's pretty much what Portland did.
The much-vaunted new firehouse in the county seat is nice. We won't deny that.
But it's also true that it resulted in:
• The loss of a "spec" building that had served as a successful incubator for small industries.
• An empty building - also historic in its architecture - downtown.
• And longer response times by the fire department as a result of moving the firehouse from the center to the edge of town.
Sure, those response times are only marginally different.
But if you live in the margins of town, that could matter.
Sometimes, it seems, the prospect of grant money - politically painless money with no local, discernible tax consequences - can derail otherwise thoughtful people, or at least distract them.
That doesn't have to be the case.
It's our understanding that Dunkirk Mayor Sam Hubbard and some members of the city council have expressed qualms about the industrial park firehouse proposal.
They ought to trust their guts.
This is one time where following Portland's example may not be the best course of action. - J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
In Dunkirk, some folks are pushing for a new fire station and JEMS base, which are not necessarily a bad idea.
Dunkirk's firehouse, at any rate, needs more space. It's a historic old building, but at the very least it needs an addition.
But instead of having a rational, thoughtful discussion about what should be done and what the town can afford, the grant chase has begun.
Lured by the idea of pain-free dollars from the state, otherwise sensible people have checked their good sense at the door.
As it stands now, the idea is to move the fire station and ambulance base from downtown Dunkirk to the town's industrial park. The idea, apparently, is to use the land to match the much-sought grant.
Meanwhile, the scope and scale of the project have grown.
Grant-funded projects have a way of doing that.
But let's just imagine the whole thing won approval from the powers-that-be tomorrow. What would be the outcome?
Three things for certain:
• The city of Dunkirk would have less land available for industrial development and the creation of new local jobs.
• The city of Dunkirk would have two more empty buildings - the old firehouse and JEMS base - downtown.
• And response times by the fire department would be longer for much of the community because the firehouse would have been relocated from the center to the edge of town.
Does that make sense?
It's a pretty goofy scenario; and if it seems familiar, it's because that's pretty much what Portland did.
The much-vaunted new firehouse in the county seat is nice. We won't deny that.
But it's also true that it resulted in:
• The loss of a "spec" building that had served as a successful incubator for small industries.
• An empty building - also historic in its architecture - downtown.
• And longer response times by the fire department as a result of moving the firehouse from the center to the edge of town.
Sure, those response times are only marginally different.
But if you live in the margins of town, that could matter.
Sometimes, it seems, the prospect of grant money - politically painless money with no local, discernible tax consequences - can derail otherwise thoughtful people, or at least distract them.
That doesn't have to be the case.
It's our understanding that Dunkirk Mayor Sam Hubbard and some members of the city council have expressed qualms about the industrial park firehouse proposal.
They ought to trust their guts.
This is one time where following Portland's example may not be the best course of action. - J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
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