Chilmark selectmen are reevaluating their options for buying land to build a new fire station, in light of concerns raised by the town fire chief.

At a joint meeting of the selectmen and the town public safety building site committee last week, fire chief David Norton said a property currently under consideration for purchase would present “an uncomfortable and unsafe situation” both for firefighters and the public. He argued, among other things, that the site may be too small to meet the department’s needs, and that turning onto Menemsha Crossroad from Middle Road could be dangerous.

The town public safety building site committee last year had identified the area around Beetlebung Corner as the best location for a new building to house the fire department and possibly the Tri-Town Ambulance service. Following several failed attempts to purchase land in the area, last month the selectmen signed a $975,000 purchase and sale agreement for a property behind town hall owned by the family of the late Bette Carroll. Early last week a January date was set for a special town meeting to bring the purchase before voters, along with $260,000 to hire a designer and project manager. Both spending measures would require Proposition 2 1/2 exemptions to be voted on at the annual town election in the spring.

One day later the plan changed, when at the joint meeting the fire chief cast doubt on the suitability of the site. With the agenda focused on discussion of possible uses for the property and the next steps going forward, Mr. Norton’s comments appeared to come as a surprise.

At the begnning of the meeting selectman Warren Doty recounted the many attempts to find the right piece of land. “It’s a high price, but for us it could be a strategic property,” he said of the 1.4-acre Carroll family property. “It’s the one piece of land that came up for sale that we could buy,” he added.

Selectman Bill Rossi said he thought the site’s proximity to Beetlebung Corner made up for its smaller size (the committee had originally aimed to buy at least two acres), but he also said without the fire chief’s support, the purchase would not proceed. “If this doesn’t have the support of the people we are trying to help out, this is not a good plan,” he said.

Mr. Doty agreed. “We have an out,” he said. “If it's not a good idea we just vote no and not do it.”

Mr. Norton said if the new site could meet his department’s needs, he would support the purchase, but until then a town meeting vote is unlikely.

“If I were the selectmen, based on this discussion I would be thinking long and hard about having a special town meeting,” committee chairman Andy Goldman said Wednesday. Selectman Jonathan Mayhew suggested that a proposal to buy land without a building plan would be a tough sell for the community.

Meanwhile, Mr. Norton expressed ongoing frustration at the lack of space in the current fire station, which occupies about 2,500 square feet at Beetlebung Corner, and the difficulty in navigating the intersection of North Road and Menemsha Crossroad. He said he would prefer a site farther up the crossroad, but Mr. Doty said other properties were not for sale.

The committee at one point had envisioned a building of about 8,000 square feet.

Committee member Tim Rich suggested redrawing the lot lines behind town hall to give better access to emergency vehicles, but that would require cooperation from abutters. Mr. Mayhew suggested creating a second vehicle access altogether, but questions arose about whether that would infringe on wetlands.

Board members agreed that a new building did not necessarily need to house both the fire department and Tri-Town Ambulance, which would allow more room for the fire department. They also supported a municipal campus model, where Tri-Town Ambulance would move into the existing fire station after renovations.

Tri-Town chief Ben Retmier, who served on the building site committee, said he would have preferred to share the new building with the fire department in order to facilitate better communication, but was also willing to accept the alternative.

In the end the committee agreed to hire an engineer to do a preliminary site plan and analysis using funds approved at the annual town meeting in April for the public safety building project. The selectmen had agreed earlier to move forward with a site evaluation by Vineyard Land Surveying, which would serve as a foundation for architectural work.

The purchase and sale agreement with the Carroll family gives the town until Jan. 15 to approve the purchase, and another 60 days to close the sale. Town executive secretary Tim Carroll said the special town meeting, originally scheduled for Jan. 11, could potentially be delayed a few weeks to analyze the site, but that would require amending the agreement. The idea was to keep the preliminary engineering costs below $25,000 to avoid having to issue requests for proposals.

“We need to do something quick and cheap,” committee chairman Andy Goldman said.

The selectmen approved up to $10,000 for the site plan and analysis, although Mr. Carroll believed it could be done for about half that amount. Mr. Goldman plans to work with Mr. Carroll and Mr. Norton in the coming weeks and report back to the committee.