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Stokes board approves $375,000 for new EMS station in Pinnacle
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Published: June 24, 2009
Updated: 06/24/2009 12:25 am
DANBURY - The Stokes County Board of Commissioners approved spending $375,000 to build a new EMS station in Pinnacle at its regular meeting on Monday.
The station will be built on a lot near the intersection of Chestnut Grove and Volunteer roads in Pinnacle. It will have three bays, instead of the current two, and roomier living quarters, said Monty Stevens, the EMS director for Stokes County.
Commissioner Ernest Lankford expressed some reservation about the cost of the new building. He said he had hoped that the slow economy would result in much lower bids.
"I don't see where we got the advantage that people thought we'd get," Lankford said.
He also estimated that the project would have cost around $270,000 if the county had acted as its own contractor.
"It'd be a few dollars cheaper, but we do need the station. I'm very aware of that," Lankford said. "The EMTs and paramedics have lived in a substandard building for several years, and I think this will be a nice building."
Wishon & Carter of Yadkinville submitted the winning bid of $339,989. Another $35,700 will cover tap fees, water lines and a few other items.
Construction will probably begin in late July and be finished in six months.
Danny Stovall, the services-support supervisor for the county, told Lankford that the bids would probably be close to $500,000 if the county waited another 18 months.
For about 25 years, the EMS staff in Pinnacle has worked from an old convenience store on old U.S. 52. As the staff expanded from one to two crews, the living space became more cramped, Stevens said.
"It's served its purpose," Stevens said after the meeting.
The county has never built its own EMS stations, several commissioners noted. The other EMS stations in the county were renovated. One operates out of a hospital.
EMTs and paramedics from Pinnacle serve the King area. The new station is about a mile closer to King, which will improve response time, Stevens said.
The county will use $341,000 from a BB&T loan to pay for the building.
Chairman Leon Inman said that the time is right for a new building.
"The location is ideal, the time is here," he said. "Let's get her done."
■ Lisa O'Donnell can be reached at 727-7420 or at lodonnell@wsjournal.com.
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