Point Lookout, Lido say ‘no' to $7 million bond measure

An overwhelming majority of Point Lookout and Lido Beach voters rejected their fire department’s proposed $7 million bond to fund upgrades to its facilities in a referendum on Tuesday night.

Residents turned out in impressive numbers to vote on the measure. Of the 1,105 votes, 758 opposed it and 260 were in favor. Sixty-six votes were voided, and 21 affidavit votes — ballots in which the voter’s eligibility was in question — were not verified and counted because they could not have affected the result.

“We’re disappointed,” said Chas Thompson, a commissioner of the Lido and Point Lookout Fire District. “We worked hard on this plan; we felt the plan was right for the community. We’re disappointed by the outcome, but, hey, that’s the public’s vote.

Last month, the district’s Board of Fire Commissioners held two community meetings to introduce residents to the plan and ask for their support. A $3.75 million renovation of the Point Lookout-Lido Fire Department’s Main Firehouse — its headquarters in Point Lookout — would have expanded it to almost twice its current space with the addition of a second floor. The plan also included doubling the size of the Lido Firehouse, and demolishing the historic Ye Olde Firehouse and replacing it with a command center housing a conference and training room and administrative offices.

The department planned to use $500,000 from the district’s building account, but asked the public to approve a $7 million, 23-year bond to cover the remaining costs. According to officials, the owner of a home with a market value of $400,000 would have paid around $9.19 per month for the life of the bond. For a home valued at $600,000, the cost would have been approximately $13.79 per month.

“Our position on the whole thing is that we wanted to provide people with the right information to make the decision that was right for them,” said Thompson. “And obviously the people spoke. We’ve never had this many people vote for anything.”