In 1999, the Town of Holliston constructed an addition to the fire station at 59 Central Street.  This addition included three rear bay doors, each of which was approximately ten feet from the rear property line.  That tight space was not sufficient to provide access to the doors, rendering them unusable.  So why did the select board propose such a design?

Original building plans specify only ten-and-a-half feet of
pavement behind the fire station, almost up to the property line

Those building plans were created with the intent that the town would at some point in the future purchase the additional property behind the fire station that would be needed in order to make the bay doors accessible and usable; and would also provide a drive-through.  At that time, the property in question (44 Exchange Street) was owned by the fire station dispatcher.

However, after the addition was built, and the dispatcher put her house up for sale; the select board reversed course and ultimately decided against the purchase of that required rear property.

More details on this decision are available in two articles
at the Holliston Reporter:



Note that in this picture, the additional 10 feet of pavement applied in 2013
has not yet been put down, so the driveway still adheres to the building plans.

Holliston Reporter: The Fire Station has Three Back Doors? by Raymond Moloney, December 18, 2013

Holliston Reporter: Central Fire Station has Three Rear Doors, by Raymond Moloney, January 6, 2014

In 2013, the opportunity to purchase the abutting rear property was presented to the town.  The Select Board decided against it — thus deciding against a drive-through and against being able to use the three rear doors.

That same year, the fire station requested to extend the 10 feet of pavement anyway, into the private property that the town had not purchased.  That request was approved and the pavement applied by the highway department.

The extra pavement was added at the rear of the building and is an additional 10 feet over the property line into the 36 Exchange Street lot and into the 44 Exchange Street lot.  (This is the newer, darker pavement that is now visible behind the building in the picture at the top of this page.)

This additional pavement was put in place by the fire station and the highway department in order to provide access to the rear bay doors and to provide drive-through access to the municipal lot, ignoring the original building plans and specifications, ignoring the existing property lines, and ignoring the decision of the Select Board to not to purchase the required property. 

The drive-through access extends from Central Street, across the 36 Exchange Street property, across the 44 Exchange Street property, to the municipal parking lot on Exchange Street.

Our insurance company has put us on notice that if there are any accidents or injuries on the section of pavement that is on our property, we are liable.

We would like the town to remove the pavement from our property, thus restoring the area to the design specificed on the building plans as it was from 1999 to 2013; and to post signs instructing that the area is not a public drive-through or access.

Thank you for visiting.

Property line display on google maps illustrates
the proxomity of the fire station addition to the property line.

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