Winthrop Firehouse Committee Confirms $38.5 Million Estimate Ahead of April Vote

WINTHROP -- February 24, 2025, Winthrop's Firehouse Building Committee locked in a $38.48 million project estimate and swore in two new members ahead of an April 5 debt-exclusion vote. The updated figure, presented at the February 24 meeting, includes a 16 percent escalation factor for 2026 construction costs and a $2.5 million contingency, while infrastructure work previously anticipated for the 151 Pauline Street site has been deferred after engineers determined the affected utilities lie beneath the gymnasium rather than the auditorium. Committee chair Karen Chavez told the panel that a 25-year bond term would save the town approximately $8.6 million in interest over a 30-year term, with the average homeowner, assessed at $697,000, seeing roughly $480 added to their annual tax bill beginning no earlier than fiscal year 2028. New members Jack Dempsey, a retired Boston fire commissioner, and Hannah Belcher, Town Council vice president and Precinct 3 councillor, were sworn in by the town clerk. The committee confirmed one community coffee hour, set for March 13 at 6 p.m. at Seal Harbor with Councillor Swope, and is pursuing additional sessions at the Senior Center and O'Connell Hall.