OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford The Fredonia Fire Department is pictured Monday evening. The Fredonia Board of Trustees passed a protection agreement between the department and Pomfret, and heard a report about the building’s condition, at its Monday meeting.

The Fredonia Board of Trustees handled three items related to the Fredonia Fire Department Monday, passing a fire protection agreement with the town of Pomfret, hearing a report on the deteriorating condition of the fire station’s exterior and bonding for a new tanker truck.

The three-year fire protection contract provides Fredonia Fire Department coverage for the town of Pomfret with the exception of Lily Dale, which has its own fire department.

Under the agreement, Pomfret will pay the village of Fredonia $411,610 in 2019, $418,264 in 2020 and $425,682 in 2021. That compares to $385,000 in 2016, $396,550 in 2017 and $408,446 in 2018 in the current contract.

For its services, the Fredonia Fire Department will receive 17.5 percent of Pomfret’s payments — the same percentage as in the current contract. The village and the fire department agreed to set aside an additional 17.5 percent of the payments into a firefighting equipment purchase fund.

The Pomfret Town Board still has to ratify the agreement and is set to do so at a Dec. 27 meeting.

As for the fire department’s headquarters, Jennifer Hill of Wendel Engineering reported to the board that it needs some significant work to the stucco on its exterior,.

There is no weather barrier between the stucco and the walls, which has led to deterioration, she said. In the office area, water has badly deteriorated the stucco and seeped down behind it, damaging the building’s frame. The tower also has water damage to its stucco, Hill continued. Finally, there are several doors that are corroded and should be replaced.

The worst damage is to the office, Hill said. There, she recommended complete removal of the stucco and installation of weather sheathing and said new studs would need to be installed in spots.

Work on the stucco, if done on all the spots that needed repair, would run anywhere from $275,000 to $350,000, Hill estimated. “I think you have the opportunity to change the style of the building, so there’s options,” she said.

“Does Fire Chief (Brian) Walker have any preferences?” Trustee Michael Barris asked. “No,” said Walker to laughter from the people in the meeting room.

Hill added that although the main roofs of the building are not leaking, they are coming to the end of their useful life. The addition to the building erected about 20 years ago is in good shape, she stated.

The bond for the tanker truck cost $250,000. The board passed a similar resolution authorizing a $200,000 bond to help pay for a water line project on the north end of the village, which Mayor Athanasia Landis said began work on James Place Monday.