Recreation Department Wants Land Swap on New Fire Station

It is certain that Parker Village will be getting a new fire station as part of the upcoming Cornerstone Square project, but it appears that there may be some question as to its exact final location.

Parks and Recreation representatives were on hand to talk about a land swap with the town to provide the 1.4 acres at the for the fire station, requesting land next to the in exchange.

The parcel, which abuts the north side of the school, was originally planned for use as a possible Town Hall annex sometime if the need arose in the future, something that made Selectman Jim Sullivan hesitant to trade away the parcel.

“If you look at a map of the area, it looks like there’s plenty of recreation there already,” he said. “For all the places for municipal use, this is the only place we’d have left for an annex, so we’d have to think long and hard.”

Parks and Recreation Commission chairman Kacy Caviston indicated that they wouldn’t need the entire seven acre parcel, only the amount of land that would be lost at the Jack Walsh Field.

Additionally, the transfer would require state and federal approval due to a federal grant used to purchase the land in the 1970s that stipulated the property must be used for recreational purposes.

Nearby residents at the meeting were in favor of bringing a fire station to the area, but voiced concerns over public safety due to the slope of Carlisle Road nearby, the lack of centrality impacting reaction times for trucks heading from the station if built at that site.

There were also requests that wherever the station was placed, wireless towers were taken into account due to a pending discussion about a tower on Griffin Road that had caused concern.

Caviston indicated one possible alternative for the Jack Walsh field site could be a portion of Tech Park West that was slated to be a softball field.

The Selectmen did not provide any decisions on the proposal on Tuesday, although they informally decided to continue pursuing the idea.