Looking back through old files, Fire Chief Robert Seltzer discovered plans for a new fire station on the Routes 116 and 7 corridors dating back to 1976.
After seeing those, he said, the delays experienced since the town approved a $4.5 million bond to purchase property in the northern corridor of Smithfield and to build a station does not seem as long.
Seltzer said the Fire Department Building Committee looked at three properties along the northern corridor, and waited several months for final pricing on a state-owned property at the corner of Routes 116 and 7.
“That has held up the whole process,” the chief said.
The asking price came in higher than expected, or $680,000 instead of an estimated $560,000, for the property located behind the Holiday Inn at 1010 Douglas Pike, he said.