Frequently Asked Questions

Renovation has not been ruled out — rebuilding on the existing site at 637 High Street is one of the three options currently being studied. However, renovation alone is unlikely to solve the core problems. The building's structural limitations, constrained lot size, and the scope of what's needed (proper apparatus bays, decontamination facilities, ADA compliance, gender-neutral quarters) make a full renovation functionally equivalent to a rebuild. Any work exceeding 33% of the building's value also triggers ADA and Stretch Energy Code requirements, which significantly increases cost. Feasibility study will help determine what's actually achievable on that site.

After the second failed vote in September 2025, the Select Board took a different approach entirely. Rather than advancing the same project again, they formed the Fire Station 1 Steering Committee — a citizen-led group of nine Westwood residents — to start fresh and evaluate all viable options. The committee met publicly more than a dozen times, studied the department's actual operational needs, and identified three candidate sites for further evaluation. This process is designed to be transparent and resident-informed before any construction vote is brought back to the ballot.

No. The $325,000 approved at Town Meeting funds professional studies — site engineering, environmental review, traffic analysis, and conceptual design. This work is required to answer the questions that can't be answered without professional expertise: which site works best, what would the building actually look like, and what would it realistically cost. No construction can begin without a separate debt exclusion vote, which requires both a two-thirds vote at Town Meeting and a majority vote at the ballot box. Residents will have a direct say before any money is spent on construction.

A reliable cost estimate doesn't exist yet — and that's exactly what the feasibility phase is designed to produce. Providing a number before site studies and schematic design are complete would be misleading. What we do know is that public construction in Massachusetts involves prevailing wage requirements (typically 30–40% higher than private sector rates), competitive bidding laws, and mandatory professional oversight, all of which affect cost. Once feasibility and schematic design are complete, the town will have a realistic, site-specific cost estimate to share with residents before any construction vote.

A debt exclusion allows the town to borrow money for a capital project outside the limits of Proposition 2½ — the state law that caps annual property tax increases. Funds borrowed through a debt exclusion are repaid over time (typically 20–30 years) through a temporary tax increase that ends when the debt is paid off. This is how Westwood has funded major capital projects in the past, including the Main Library (2010), Pine Hill School (2021), and Fire Station 2 (2015). The specific impact on individual tax bills would depend on the final project cost and borrowing terms, which will be shared with residents before any construction vote.

Fire Station 2 in Islington is a substation — it was built and sized accordingly. It has two offices, limited private areas, inadequate storage, and limited parking. More practically: the larger apparatus (engines, ladders, ambulances) physically don't fit in FS2's bays. And even if they did, moving equipment from one side of town leaves the other side without adequate coverage. Westwood's staffing model requires minimum crew sizes for each piece of apparatus — you can't split a three-person engine crew without losing the ability to run the engine. The two-station system exists precisely because Westwood's geography and call volume require distributed coverage.

The FS1 Steering Committee evaluated multiple options and identified three locations that best meet the criteria for a new fire station:

• 637 High Street — the current station site, which keeps FS1 in its existing location

• 72 Deerfield Avenue — the former Deerfield Elementary School property, a town-owned site with more space

• Town-owned land near 736–738 High Street — a landlocked parcel behind the Starbucks area

These three were selected based on factors including direct access to High Street, response time coverage, lot size, ability to accommodate required apparatus and programmatic needs, and traffic and neighborhood impact. No site has been chosen — feasibility and schematic design will determine which is most viable.

The FS1 Steering Committee was established by the Select Board in November 2025 following the second failed ballot vote. It is made up of nine Westwood residents from a variety of professional backgrounds, supported by town staff. The committee is not an advocacy group — its charge is to rigorously evaluate options and make recommendations based on operational needs, site feasibility, and community input. The committee has met publicly more than a dozen times and its work is open to residents. Committee Chair Ford Spalding and members can be reached at FS1committee@westwoodma.gov.

Not until after feasibility and schematic design are complete and the results have been reviewed publicly. That process is expected to take several months. Once a preferred site and design are identified, the project would need to go back to Town Meeting for authorization and then to a ballot vote for debt exclusion approval. Both votes must pass before any construction can proceed. The goal of the current phase is to give residents the information they need to make a well-informed decision when that time comes.