GUILDERLAND — The 20-year-old Fort Hunter firehouse will be getting its $1.5 million worth of planned repairs.

Out of 43 votes cast in the Dec. 13 election, 41 were in favor of the bond issue.

The department has about 55 members — all volunteers. The district covers 14 square miles and has about 3,800 houses.

At the same time, William Kanas, running unopposed, was re-elected for another five-year term as fire commissioner. Kanas received 43 votes.

He chairs the district’s board of commissioners and reported the vote tally to The Enterprise.

Fire district elections, which take place annually in New York State on the second Tuesday of December, off-cycle from town and village elections, typically draw few voters.

“Despite the critical nature of the service and the importance which residents attach to fire protection services, the low levels of participation — less than 1 percent of the registered voters of the district in almost all cases — suggests voter apathy,” according to an October 2022 report from the Rockefeller Institute of Government.

“Moreover,” the report goes on, “according to multiple media accounts, most of the votes cast in these elections are cast by members of the fire department and their families. Most residents, in other words, do not bother to vote in fire district elections — possibly because they are satisfied with the level of service in their area, but more likely due to the opaqueness of the process and low levels of awareness.”

“We are passing a bond but we are not raising taxes,” Kanas told The Enterprise earlier, explaining that the district had set aside money each year for repairs.

The current tax rate for Fort Hunter Fire District residents is just under a dollar per $1,000 in assessed value, Kanas said.

Constructing the five-bay firehouse at 3525 Carman Road with additional training and meeting spaces cost $4.5 million two decades ago, Kanas said. He said it is currently assessed at $3,144,000, which is the amount for the original bond.

The roof had a 20-year warranty and shingles have now come off, he said. In addition to replacing the roof, the $1.5 million bond issue will pay for electric and drainage work, replacing culverts in the parking lot, said Kanas.

“We need to do it all now,” he said.