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caption:
Ground Breaking
Officials of the East Putnam Fire District prepare to put the shovels in the ground to begin construction on the new East Putnam Firehouse Sept. 7. Left to right: Fire Chief Vitt Sochor (in memoriam 1958 to 1984); Fire Chief John Adams (1984--2001); Fire Chief Whitey Lamothe (in memoriam - 2001); Fire Chief David Cutler (2001 to 2010); Fire Chief Abe Walker (2010 to present); District President Douglas Cutler Jr. (1999 to present). Linda Lemmon photo.
caption, page 11:
Plans
East Putnam Fire Chief Abe Walker, right, shows a visitor the plans for the new firehouse. Linda Lemmon photo.
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
E. PUTNAM --- Dreams of a new firehouse, saving dollar by dollar and many years of hard background work became real Sept. 7 when the East Putnam Fire District broke ground for its new firehouse.
Douglas Cutler Jr., president of the East Putnam Fire District, told fire and town officials, emergency services, friends and families, that planning for the firehouse began in 2001 when District officials saw that they would have a space problem. The fire department was housed for more than 50 years on property owned by the Sochor family.
"We realized we'd outgrown the space," Cutler said, and started putting money away in a reserve account. The original price tag for the 12,000 square foot building and property was $4.6 million. Cutler said the district received, with the help of U.S. Congressman Joe Courtney, 2nd District, a $3.3 million low-interest loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development. The district also asked the town to back its application to the state for a Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grant of $500,000. That grant was turned down. With a reduced budget, Cutler said the district has scaled back the firehouse. Some parts of the project on hold for now include: Some outside lighting, trim work, built-ins, lockers and cabinets and the epoxy floor.
The District has asked the town to back its application for a $500,000 STEAP grant for this funding cycle. Town Administrator Doug M. Cutler said that there's been no word on the new cycle. He said the state is still distributing last year's grants and there's no word yet on this year's funding. He added that in addition to the fire district, the proposed Quinebaug technology park is also looking for STEAP funding.
The construction loan from the Citizens National Bank closed Sept. 5.
Scott Bellville, chairman of the New Facility Committee, in his remarks at the groundbreaking, said "at times we didn't think we'd make it. At times we threw up our hands. But we didn't give up."
Putnam Fire Chief Norm Bernier and Putnam Police Chief Rick Hayes both complimented the East Putnam Fire District with Hayes saying the relationship among emergency services in Putnam is "special and unique," not only in Connecticut, but in New England.
Abe Walker, the current fire chief, said "this building will truly be a blessing to the district and to the town as a whole."
The 13,062-square foot station would be built on 21 acres west of the current fire station on Rt. 44. The existing fire station contains 3,132 square feet of space, with major deficiencies that cannot be addressed as it sits on a piece of leased land. The district has spent about $450,000 on buying the 21 acres further west on Rt. 44, including costs and another $30,000 on an architect’s advice and design work. President Cutler said Diggs Construction Company hopes to finish the building in six to eight months.