With last week's unanimous Representative Town Meeting (RTM) approval to bond $12.5 million for a new firehouse, the bidding process begins. Now, the clock ticks toward completing a brand-new, 34,000-square-foot facility by March 2012. The current firehouse, built in 1962, is overburdened and failing.

Minutes after the Sept. 15 RTM meeting ended with an eruption of cheers and applause from the crowd, victorious Branford Fire Chief Jack Ahern said, "The morale has just increased 100 percent. The volunteers are excited and the staff is excited."

But it wasn't an easy road to reach this point. At last week's meeting, a crowd of some 150 firehouse project supporters helped pack the room to hear the RTM vote. After the firehouse bonding issue sailed through on both sides of the aisle, the crowd stuck around to hear the verdict on a related agenda item that could still sink plans as proposed.

That item: whether to transfer $600,000 to allow Public Works the ability to lease and outfit temporary garage space on North Branford Road for at least three years. Public Works currently neighbors the firehouse at 45 North Main Street. Both buildings need to be knocked down to build the new firehouse.

Rumblings from RTM Republicans about dissatisfaction with a temporary Public Works location grew louder in August, when joint RTM committees, led by Republicans, voted seven to four against recommending approval of the firehouse bonding and transferring the $600,000.

When the $600,000 transfer came up on the agenda Sept. 15, RTM Republicans called to re-refer the item, saying there should be a solid plan for a permanent Public Works facility.

Republicans said the bidding process for the new firehouse could still begin immediately while the town took one to two months to explore Public Works options. Republicans proposed moving the new firehouse to a "building swap" site at 175 North Main Street, leaving Public Works and the old firehouse intact to allow Branford's Senior Center (now being proposed to move to 175 North Main Street) to become Public Works's neighbor. The idea was presented on behalf of the Republican RTM by minority leader Frank Twohill.

Republicans said the idea could save $5- to $6 million, based on cost estimates of a plan put on the back burner last year to build a new Public Works facility at Branford's heavily disputed Tabor property.

Democratic RTM majority leader Anthony Giardiello countered the Republicans' call for re-referral, saying, "This is like voting 'Yes' on the car and 'No' for the gasoline."

Ahead of the RTM meeting on Sept. 15, the Board of Selectmen approved appointing a Public Works Building Committee to kick start the town's stalled effort to build a new home for Public Works.

At the RTM meeting, when pressed by the Republican side, First Selectman Anthony "Unk" DaRos said the building committee will focus on using the Tabor property for a new Public Works facility "until somebody says something different."

Republican RTM member Dennis Flannigan said the Public Works Building Committee should have been formed "a long time ago. It should have been done before this point." Instead, Flannigan pointed out, the town now faces a $600,000 cost to move Public Works temporarily.

Town Engineer Janice Plaziak said the firehouse plan could not go forward unless Public Works was moved, saying it would be "fiscally irresponsible" of the town to put out bidding packets for work on the new firehouse without having a confirmed construction site.

Plaziak said RTM approval of the $12.5 million firehouse bonding and the $600,000 transfer "has to go together, otherwise the project cannot move forward."

While approval of the $12.5 million firehouse bonding was a unanimous, bi-partisan vote; the vote supporting the $600,000 transfer went along party lines, carried by the Democratic majority.