New firehouse plan solid
Usually in these economically gloomy days, fixing something old is much favored over buying something new. But as long as Asbury Park doesn't have to borrow money its taxpayers would have to pay back, with interest, to build a new firehouse, this is something new that's much needed.
Asbury officials are making a smart choice by applying for federal stimulus dollars — $5 million of them, to be exact — to help build a new firehouse the city sorely needs.
The existing firehouse is historic — and condemned. Built for horse-drawn steamers, it first opened in July 1900. It currently does not comply with any requirements for a fire or emergency management facility. City firefighters keep some of their equipment in an old trolley barn in neighboring Allenhurst and also in a garage on Monroe Avenue in the city. That's neither efficient nor expeditious when a call to respond to an emergency is sounded.
The city has spent money trying to shore up the 109-year-old building, but doing that yet again only would be throwing good money on a structurally outmoded facility. It is time for a new firehouse, and Asbury officials are going about paying for it the right way.
The new firehouse, planned for a now-vacant lot on Langford Street between First and Second avenues, is expected to cost between $7.9 million and $8.3 million. If the $5 million in stimulus funds comes through, and Congress has appropriated some $210 million for firehouse construction grants for 2009, the city plans to raise the rest of the money needed by selling the old firehouse site, which is on a prime real-estate corner.
City officials, too, are hoping a new fire station, bolstered by a firefighter roster that includes 12 new members, can be an asset to the entire region, providing necessary services after Fort Monmouth's fire department closes. That's the kind of thinking that should make the feds look favorably upon Asbury's application.
When officials recklessly spend money on something new, it's often time to sound an alarm. This time, sound thinking prevails and the plans are worthy of applause.
