The western Monmouth County borough of just less than 900 residents held a vote approve a roughly $579,000 bond and the final result was 152 to 152.
ROOSEVELT -- A bond referendum to fund a new, shared firehouse for the town of Roosevelt has come down to just three votes.
The western Monmouth County borough of just less than 900 residents held a vote Tuesday to approve a roughly $579,000 bond and the final result was 156 to 156.
Councilman Michael Ticktin said the votes from voting machines tallied 155 to 144 to defeat the referendum, but once absentee ballots were tallied, 12 were yes votes and one was a no, leveling the vote at 156.
Now, Ticktin and the town clerk's office say it all hangs on three provisional ballots that the Monmouth County election board will review Thursday.
"Good thing it's three, an odd number. We're all depending on those," April Suk, the fire company's treasurer said Wednesday.
Locally, the referendum is known as the EMS building referendum, but the money could benefit the first aid squad and fire company.
The issue dates back years and centers on the sizes of the fire trucks and ambulances used by the volunteer and first aid squads, Suk said.
The borough, founded in 1937, has a firehouse that was built in 1940, Suk said.
In the 1970s, the fire truck the company used no longer fit in the firehouse, so the fire company moved to the municipal garage.
Eventually, the first aid squad moved into the old firehouse, Suk said.
Over the years, the fire company made several attempts to get a newer truck, but the size of the rig or money was always an issue.
Recently, a renewed effort to buy a new fire truck led to a fundraising effort, and the company raised $15,00 and then won a $10,000 grant from the Josh Cellars and Gary Sinise Foundation for first responders, Suk said.
In April, the fire company accepted a truck from a fire company in Tinton Falls, who had heard about Roosevelt's ongoing efforts to get a new truck, Suk said.
The excitement, though, was a bit tempered, since the truck was 2-feet too long to fit in the the municipal garage, which was also damaged in Superstorm Sandy.
So the fire company went out and bought supplies from Home Depot and built a temporary enclosure, Suk said.
The new truck allowed the company to take the truck that had been going on calls - a 1970 Mack fire truck - out of service. Then the company bought a fire truck from Wall Township with the $25,000 from the fundraising.
That rig is sitting, uncovered, in a borough lot.
Meanwhile, the first aid squad's vehicles grew over time as well, Suk said, and now the volunteers cannot remove a stretcher from an ambulance while parked inside the former firehouse turned squad building.
The plan, Suk said, is for the bond money to build a new structure that can house the fire company, the first aid squad and an emergency management presence.
Suk, and Ticktin, said plans have been discussed, but the bond money would be needed before any solid new building plan moves forward.
Opposition to the bond referendum had to do with the money involved and whether a new building is needed.
In the Letters to the Editor section of the Roosevelt Borough Bulletin, a resident named Jeb Shahan wrote that an approved referendum would give the fire company "luxuries" and will go over $600,000.
"A no vote will send a strong message to the council to fully consider the needs of the community, and the option of renovating the existing buildings," Shahan wrote.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.
