Milton's three-station fire modernization program is hitting its stride: the new East Milton Fire Station is under construction and targeting a November 2026 completion, while the $16.1 million Atherton Street rebuild advances toward voter approval this fall.

Fire Station Building Committee Chair Brian M. Walsh told the May 2026 Annual Town Meeting that the committee "bid and are currently building East Milton Fire Station," the second of three stations in the town's modernization sequence. Town Administrator Nicholas Milano confirmed in a July 13 update that construction of the new East Milton Fire Station is underway.

The first project in the sequence, the new Fire Headquarters behind Town Hall, was completed in February 2024. The Atherton Street station is the final phase.

Atherton Street: $16.1M and a fall vote

Voters at the May 2026 Annual Town Meeting approved $1 million for architectural, engineering and project management services to advance the Atherton Street station design. The committee plans to request full construction funding at the October 2026 Special Town Meeting, followed by a debt exclusion ballot question at the November 2026 state election.

The preliminary price tag: approximately $16.1 million.

The renovations would expand the Atherton Street facility from two bays to five to accommodate modern fire vehicles, add living quarters for firefighters and build a decontamination area for crews returning from emergency calls. Walsh noted at the May 2026 Town Meeting that the station, established in 1901, "had horses when built — NOT Trucks" and that its two engine bays are too small for today's apparatus.

Capital context

The Atherton Street project joins a crowded capital landscape. As we reported July 16, the Finance Committee is already weighing FY2028 budget pressures from the fire station rebuild and a potential Laboré College campus acquisition.

The 11-member Fire Station Building Committee, appointed by the Town Moderator under a charge established at the 2017 Annual Town Meeting, includes Walsh, Select Board liaison John E. Driscoll Jr. and nine other members serving indefinite terms.

The October 2026 Special Town Meeting is the next opportunity for residents to weigh in on the Atherton Street project. A debt exclusion vote follows in November. Committee agendas and minutes are posted at miltonma.gov/684.