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Gaylord City Council members learned last week that construction on the new emergency services building may begin as soon as next month.

Council members, on Wednesday, awarded the project to E.J. Pinske Builders. The Gaylord firm submitted a bid of $366,800 for the project. That was the lowest of the 13 bids received by the City.

Ian Sing of E.J. Pinske Builders told council members that construction could start in a month. The project is expected to last 4-5 months, according to Sing.

The start date may hinge on the results of tests planned for an active sanitary sewer line which runs underneath the building site.

Council members have received varying opinions on whether or not the sanitary sewer line should be rerouted prior to the start of construction. Sing doesn’t foresee the line delaying the project. E.J. Pinske Builders has built over [sanitary sewer lines] before, he explained. More information on the sanitary sewer line will be provided to council members at their June 4th meeting.

The new emergency services building, to be located on Jefferson Avenue East (directly west of NAPA), will be home to Gaylord’s Ambulance Service and the Police Department.

Gaylord’s Ambulance Service and Police Department currently share a facility located on the northwest corner of the new library (former City Hall). Less than ideal conditions for the ambulance service’s supplies led council members to make a new facility a priority.

The new emergency services building will consist of a single story, wood-frame structure measuring nearly 4,000 square feet.

According to Joe Kuphal, a member of the Ambulance Service, there will be two garage stalls for each department. He said the Ambulance Service’s portion of the facility will include an office, a 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, Kuphal explained.