If at first you don't succeed, try, try (and try and try and try and try) again. That seems to be the thinking in Swanzey, where for the seventh time, proponents are gearing up to ask voters to fund a new fire station to replace the cramped space under the town offices that has served as the central station since the 1960s.

The issue first arose a decade ago, when officials requested $4,858,918 for a new building on donated land on Safford Drive. It would have station included nine apparatus bays, a combination training and meeting room for about 50 people, offices, a radio room, a small conference room, areas for decontamination of equipment and gear, male and female bathrooms and two bedrooms. Only 40 percent of voters backed that proposal, with some saying it was too ambitious.

The following year, the town proposed a scaled-back, $3 million, 10,000-square-foot central fire station, and requested $2.7 million of the cost as part of a larger $5.5 million bond to deal with three public buildings. That plan drew about 45 percent support at town meeting, still far below the 60 percent required for approving a bond.

In 2017, officials put the fire station on the back burner to push for a bond to renovate the town police station instead. That $415,000 bond passed. And the next year, the town held off on a new-station bond, instead requesting to move money from a capital account and allowing the selectmen to spend as needed on fire station work between the three stations. And they asked for $315,000 for a new fire truck. All were approved.

In November 2018, the town bought land on Route 32 for a new station, and when 2019 town meeting approved spending $25,000 on designs for a future station, officials immediately set about working on another bond article to build one. They hired architects and tried to engender buy-in from voters by creating a focus group and holding meetings to discuss the new plans. But come March 2020, voters again turned down a bond -- this time $3.5 million toward a $ $3.95 million station -- to build it.

In 2021, a $4 million proposal won a majority of votes, but still fell short of the 60 percent needed to approve a bond. The next year, a $2.8 million bond toward a $3,575,000 station failed, with 56 percent support. In 2023, officials took a step back, asking for -- and getting -- $300,000 toward a future station.

And last year, nearly 55 percent of voters gave a thumbs-up to a $4.5 million proposal. Still not enough to pass.

This past week, the town's Fire Station Advisory Committee -- created last July -- announced plans for a $3,575,000 station, contingent on getting approval for a $2.5 million bond. It's the seventh time in 11 years the town has sought approval to build a new station.

Just as in each of those bids, town officials are noting how cramped things are under the town offices. Larger, more modern engines barely clear the ceiling and diesel fumes flow into the office space, among other drawbacks.

Although $2.5 million is the smallest bond amount sought yet for a new station, as is often the case each time a bond goes before voters, this year a fear will be the general economy and overall taxes. Things are always tight.

But one argument officials have this time around is the town's growing need for fire and EMT services. In the last couple of years, several large-scale residential projects have been approved in town, including five developments, adding a total of 478 rental units.

That kind of growth demands efficient and modern firefighting. It's up to town officials to make the case that a new station will help provide that.