TICONDEROGA — The second time proved to be the charm Tuesday when Ticonderoga residents voted by a narrow margin to build an almost $13 million fire station.
The vote was 362 to 307, passing by a margin of 45 votes, to construct a $12.98 million firehouse on the site of the present Ticonderoga Volunteer Dire Department building on Montcalm Street in downtown Ticonderoga.
Demolition of the existing fire station will start winter 2026-27, after a storage building is put up on the property to serve as a temporary firehouse. Groundbreaking on the new five-bay fire station will start around May 1, 2027, with competition by 2029. A 29-year bond will finance construction.
Fire Chief Jason Parent and the fire company released a statement after the vote: “… the project has passed the referendum. We appreciate the support of the community and will keep you all updated on the progress that will be made going forward.”
The town has a taxing Ticonderoga Joint Town/Village Fire District whose commissioners said property taxes will increase $107 a year on a home assessed at $100,000. The previous project was for $17.88 million, and the vote in October 2025 was 376 to 202 against the plan.
Fire Commissioner Bobby Porter said a new fire station will be an investment in the community.
“Thank you to all who were able to take the time to vote,” he said online. “We will continue to work hard to seek grants and other funding sources.”
Fire officials have said they’ll now seek state and federal grants to reduce the cost to taxpayers.
The fire department hired Hueber-Breuer Construction Company of Syracuse to design the project and came back with a second proposal that was $5 million less than the first.
The present fire station was a former grocery store and has been in use as a firehouse since 1976. Parent said the building has deteriorated so badly it can’t be brought up to modern building codes.