Weston Fire Station Working Group Cuts Design, Saves Roughly $4 Million

WESTON — October 6, 2025 — Weston's Fire Station Working Group agreed Monday to cut roughly $4 million from the planned primary fire station design. The group, co-chaired by Tom Palmer and John McDonald, reached consensus to eliminate a proposed auxiliary storage building — estimated at $2.7 million — and to remove public access to the training room, lobby, triage space, and associated restrooms from the program, saving another estimated $1.3 million in building costs based on an April estimate prepared by cost consultants Jeff D'Amico and Steve Kirby of Vertex. Tecton Architects' Rebecca Hopkins presented a programmatic review showing the revised station at approximately 22,000 square feet, down from roughly 24,000. The spare ladder truck will be relocated to the existing Central Station rather than a new outbuilding, and site utilities will be roughed in to allow a future auxiliary addition if needed. The committee voted unanimously to keep an internal training room — no longer open to the public — after members argued that a primary station without one "would be something the town would regret."