Gainesville —
County officials have entered the second phase of development on a proposed Emergency Medical Services (EMS) facility at Gainesville’s Chestnut and Church streests.
EMS Director Kevin Grant said Wednesday that geotech and civil engineers are expected to survey the site this week, testing soil and plotting the facility’s foundation.
This stage of the process recently met approval from the county commissioners’ court, and further stages will require the same sign-off.
“The architect still has to finalize the building design and get the blueprints,” Grant said. “I would hope that if this project is approved, it would start construction by the end of the year.”
Grant said Wednesday that a tentative budget of $1.25 million has been approved for the facility, which is set to measure 6,800 square feet. The director’s concept for a new EMS facility began in early 2011. If approved and completed, it will replace the current facility at 305 S. Chestnut St., which is roughly 30 years old — and which officials have deemed outdated and undersized for its intended function: enabling an EMS staff that operates day and night, year-round. The proposed new facility, regardless of its final size, would enlarge the EMS classroom and raise the dimensions of officer sleeping quarters. It would also fully separate office space among EMS administrators and dispatchers.
In July, Grant received approval to add an additional two bays to his preliminary facility plan, which added 600 square feet to the design and $270,000 to the cost, but would also allow for facility expansions later.
Most importantly, Grant has said, the new facility should have a lifespan that will sustain local EMS forces through the next 20 years.
“When you have a staff here 24 hours a day, seven days a week, they need some place conducive to a good work environment,” he said in July.
Local News
Officials begin second phase of EMS facility plan
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