Orleans Select Board Unanimously Cuts Fire Station Bond Request to $55 Million

ORLEANS — May 6, 2026 — Orleans Select Board votes to lower fire station bond request from $60 million to $55 million ahead of May 11 town meeting. The board voted unanimously Wednesday to replace the $60 million figure printed in the town meeting warrant with a $55 million authorization for Article 17, acting on a revised budget from Pomeroy Associates showing a project range of $52.2 million to $59.6 million and a team recommendation of $55 million as the target. In a separate 4-1 vote — with member Michael Herman dissenting — the board also approved demolition of the existing fire station once the new facility is complete, and voted 5-0 to accept the building committee's recommendation to pursue a "transitional" design with gable roofs over the living-quarters wing and a flat roof on the apparatus bay, both achieving net zero energy. During public comment, resident John Cooper cited a December 2025 bond-rating agency report showing Orleans's debt service at 11.7 percent of revenues — nearly three times the AAA median of 4.27 percent — and warned that $60 million in new debt could push that ratio toward 20 percent. The board also unanimously approved raising the Nauset Beach non-resident daily parking fee from $32.50 to $35 and the resident season pass from $25 to $35, subject to town meeting approval, effective May 12.