City takes next step towards ambulance/police garage
February 21st, 2008A new ambulance garage came a step closer to reality last week. Council members unanimously approved a conceptual drawing for a facility which would include space for Gaylord’s Ambulance Service and the Gaylord Police Department.
The ambulance service and the police department currently share a facility located on the northwest corner of the former City Hall. Less than ideal conditions for the ambulance service’s supplies led council members to make a new garage a priority. And, with the City Hall being transformed into a library, both services would eventually be displaced.
A few months ago, it was the consensus of the City Council to construct a public safety garage on the city-owned lot west of NAPA on Jefferson Avenue East.
As directed by the City Council, an Ambulance Garage Project Committee acquired two conceptual drawings for the project. One drawing has space for both the Ambulance and Police Departments. A second drawing contains only room for the Ambulance Service.
Council members voted 4-0 to accept the conceptual drawing of a facility which will be able to handle office space and garage space for both departments. According to City Administrator Kevin McCann, the rough estimate for construction of the building is approximately $360,000. The rough estimate for the construction of a facility with room for the Ambulance Service only was approximately $282,000, McCann explained.
According to Joel Kuphal, a member of the Ambulance Service and Garage Project Committee, the size of the new facility will be approximately 4,000 square feet.
There will be two garage stalls for each department, Kuphal explained. He said the Ambulance Service’s portion of the facility will include an office, storage room for supplies and a training room large enough for 40-50 people. The new police department will include two offices and an interview room, according to Kuphal.
A next step in the process is getting City Council to approve final plans and specifications for the project. Kuphal said the Garage Project Committee is hoping to bid the project in late March and start construction some time in the spring.
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