County EMS in early planning stages of new facility
Last fall, Coshocton County Commissioners learned that Community Development Block Grant Target of Opportunity grant funds were available. The money had to be used for capital improvement projects that were related to the COVID crisis. It was decided to apply for a grant for the Coshocton County EMS station.
“We rented a building on South Sixth Street to split up our crews because it wasn’t possible to be socially distant in our building,” said Todd Shroyer, director of Coshocton County EMS. “We threw some numbers together – that was tough without an actual location picked out – and we submitted a pre-application. In late January, John Cleek, who administers grant applications for the county, was informed that our pre-application was approved.”
Shroyer said over the last few months, they have been searching for a location and had considered the parking lot/playground area that had been used by Central Elementary. “Then ODOT informed Valerie Shaw of Coshocton County Coordinated Transportation that there were funds available to her to build a new building. So, with two potential grants, the county commissioners decided to give us the lot where Central Elementary was, instead of keeping it for a jail.” The two agencies will be splitting the lot, with the EMS facing Walnut Street and CCCTA facing Main Street.
“The building we are considering is about 12,000 square feet and will give us plenty of storage, offices and room for the crews. We’ve talked to an architect and an engineer and are looking at a price of around 3.6 million dollars for our facility,” Shroyer said. If the grant is approved, the county would be responsible for $1,050,000. To help explain the cost, Shroyer said that building costs have gone up considerably. When the Warsaw Station was built in 2016, it cost about $138 per square foot. Costs now are about $300 per square foot and are continuing to go up.
Shroyer said they are still in the very early stages of planning a new building. If the grant is approved, construction on a new building would be completed within two years.
Category: Business
