LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Residents Explain How They Will Vote on Special Election Question on Westwood's Fire Station 1

Below are Letters to the Editor that Westwood Minute has recently received from readers who share their thoughts and opinions on how residents should vote at the Special Town Election on Tuesday, September 9th. Ballots cast on that day, and in early and mail-in voting, will determine whether new construction of Fire Station 1 may proceed as a debt exclusion from the taxation limitations of Proposition 2-1/2.  

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Current FS1 Proposal is Best Way to Ensure Safety

As a resident of Westwood, MA for over thirty years, I feel that all residents and town employees should be safe.

A well trained staff of firefighters is crucial to insure that our residents are safe.

In life and death situations, minutes matter. The ability to access and drive fire equipment and ambulances to an emergency event quickly can be a difference between life and death.

We need a new fire station on High Street so this will all happens in Westwood.

I feel that the town of Westwood has throughly researched and evaluated the options, and the current proposal is the best way to insure the safety of our residents and our fire fighters.

I am going to vote yes on September 9, 2025. I hope that you will join me and vote "yes" for the new fire station which is greatly needed for Westwood, MA.

Leslie Warner-Maloney

Residents Cannot Afford Current Plan for FS1

I am responding to the letter from Ms. Feingold.

I completely support the concept of a new fire station. In retrospect, it would likely have been more efficient and cost effective to have a single building that combines police and fire operations as many towns such as Norwood have done. But that is water under the bridge and not the reality we face today with an outdated and crumbling fire station. Our men and women who serve this town have a right to expect a modern facility that ensures their safety and ours. Anything less is unacceptable.

The problem with the current proposal is that no one seems to have considered the cost and the ability of the town to afford it. The voters sent a clear message that the current design is too expensive and no doubt will balloon if construction starts. Instead of listening to the voters, the Select Board has insisted that they know better. They do not. They have also falsely suggested that any changes would require starting from square one or finding another location. That argument is entirely false and misleading. Reducing the building footprint and eliminating some of the frills would show that the Select Board wants to collaborate with other residents in town rather than dismissing their concerns. The fact that the Select Board is proposing exactly the same plan is an affront to the residents they were elected to serve.

I respectfully urge that the residents of Westwood vote “no” on September 9, and then immediately move forward to find a solution that will improve public safety without breaking the town’s bank or our individual budgets. In the end, the decision has to be made by the residents.

John Harding

FinCom Vice-Chair Says Current Fire Station is a Liability to the Town

As a long-time Westwood resident, and as Vice-Chair of Westwood's Finance and Warrant Commission ("FinCom"), I am voting YES on Tuesday, September 9th, to support building the new main fire station. 

The public process to design and build this new station began in 2013, and has been studied, reviewed and refined along the way. As a FinCom member, I and my colleagues vetted this project from every angle and asked hard hitting and very detailed questions of the architects, the Westwood Fire Department, and the town and elected officials who came before us. While FinCom does not often vote unanimously on major issues coming before Town Meeting, on this project we did - as did all of the other volunteer town boards and committees which reviewed it. 

Our current main fire station is a liability to the town and we need to address this in a fiscally responsible way which ensures that all of our residents, including our kids, are well protected - as well as our first responders who protect us. A "no" vote on this ballot initiative will only mire us in further protracted public process while the need to replace the station will remain - but in an increasingly more expensive and unsafe environment. 

Voting "no" will actually cost Westwood taxpayers more money. We've already spent about $3.5 million on this process, as approved by Town Meeting, and if this project is defeated we will have to start over, spending a similar amount just to get back on track. Ultimately, this will cost us more than the $38.1 million being proposed now, even if it's smaller and on a different site. 

As a community, we overwhelmingly agree upon the need to replace our main fire station because it has outlived its useful life - and we should do so with an eye to the future. The current main fire station no longer meets Westwood's needs and poses a serious threat to the health and safety of our firefighters and our capital equipment. 

We need to continue to invest in our public safety infrastructure and get this long-identified priority done as a community. Please join me in voting "YES" for the new fire station on Tuesday, September 9th.

Best,

Michael Gay

We Need to Build FS1 for Now and for the Future -  a Local Mom's Perspective

When my family moved to Westwood 4.5 years ago, we arrived with a 3-year-old and a 2-week-old in tow. Since it was early April and still chilly, we explored all the indoor places in town. We visited FS1 and my 3-year-old begged us to go back every weekend. The firefighters welcomed us with warmth and generosity, offering tours, letting our daughter climb into the trucks, and even posing for pictures. It quickly became a well-loved family tradition.

Now, years later, my younger child still insists on saying goodnight to the fire trucks. We bring treats, wave hello, and “drive” the big trucks. FS1 has become a cornerstone of my children’s Westwood experience: from school visits and firefighters foam to the PMC Kids Ride and the unforgettable open house where we watched firefighters cut apart a car with the jaws of life. These moments have shaped their sense of safety, community, and joy.

But behind the scenes, not everything is as welcoming. I was horrified to learn that female firefighters stationed at FS1 have had to stop pumping breast milk due to a lack of suitable facilities. As a mother who breastfed and pumped while working, I find this unacceptable. These are professionals we trust with our lives, how can we not provide them with a clean, private space to care for their own children? We must do better.

Just the other night, a brush fire broke out behind our neighbor’s home, where three young children live. My family smelled smoke while enjoying one of the last summer evenings and assumed it was a backyard BBQ. It wasn’t. Our firefighters arrived swiftly and prevented what could have been a devastating situation for not just our neighbors’ home but our entire neighborhood. Their readiness and courage are not abstract, they are real, and they are local. The incident really made me think about the operational inefficiencies at FS1. I learned that the fire department has a squad truck used to fight outdoor fires but due to space constraints at FS1, the squad truck is stationed at FS2 in Islington – on the other side of town. It really made me question what would happen if there was a brush fire at Hale, another place we love to visit. A new fire station with a fifth bay door will allow the squad truck to be housed more locally which better protects our families and community. Seconds really do matter.

I understand concerns about taxes. I work in the nonprofit sector and am raising two young kids, I get it! But this project has already been vetted and approved by over two-thirds of voters at Town Meeting this past May. The design isn’t just about today, it’s about preparing for the Westwood of tomorrow. I don’t know how to design a fire station, but I do know that I trust the firefighters with my life. Shouldn’t we trust the working group which included leaders in the Westwood Fire Department to know what is needed to do their jobs safely and effectively?

This vote isn’t just about bricks and mortar. It’s about investing in the people who invest in us every single day. Let’s give them the space, resources, and respect they deserve.

Sincerely,

Alyssa Kaitz

Editor's note: Specific street addresses, that some letter writers provided to identify themselves as residents to the editor, have been deleted in this publication to protect individual privacy.

Thanks to Leslie Warner-Maloney, John Harding, Michael Gay, and Alyssa Kaitz for sharing their comments with Westwood Minute.

Share your comments with our community by registering for a free account to self-post, or email them to the editor at WestwoodInAMinute@gmail.com. 

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You may also be interested in reading:

- Helpful comparative information on MA fire stations for voters to consider

-  Fire Station 1 - Long-term planning of proposed station

-  Vote on the new Fire Station

- Despite Resident Concerns, Planned Size of Fire Station 1 Remains Unchanged - Select Board Explains Why

- Special Town Election: Revote on Debt Exclusion for a New Fire Station 1 (UPDATED)