Highland paramedics seek new housing during station renovations

A plan approved two weeks ago for the Highland paramedics during the fire station remodel had to be scrapped at the last minute.

A few weeks ago, the Highland City Council approved a plan to rent a building that formerly hosted a glass shop and renovate it into temporary housing for the Highland Fire Department’s paramedics while remodeling begins on Fire Station 1 on Broadway.

“The remodeling is so extensive that we cannot be occupying the building,” said Fire Chief Brian Wilson.

For the interim, the fire services will be operating out of Station 2.

Problem: There are no living facilities in Station 2. It’s essentially a garage, with no sleeping facilities, showers or kitchens.

That’s not a problem for the firefighters, who are volunteers and only come out when there is a fire. But for the full-time emergency medical services workers, they must live at the station when on shift.

The plan was to renovate the old glass shop with sleeping facilities and showers, housing the ambulances and other equipment. It was approved by the council and plans were about to go forward when Wilson was informed the building had been sold.

“That shot everything we had planned down the tubes,” he said.

Wilson has a few other options, which he said he would prefer not to name until he has one confirmed to present to the council. But it has to be reasonably priced, be able to create temporary housing, and hopefully allow them to park the ambulances and trucks inside out of the weather.

There were less than half a dozen possibilities around town, he said, and location matters when talking about emergency medical response.

The current Station 1 does not meet building codes or the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. The workers actually built the sleeping quarters themselves as a makeshift solution to changing needs in the department. The stairwell is too steep and not compliant with building codes, and the building has no elevator.

Since elevators are “pricey,” Wilson said, they determined to expand the building with a 20-foot addition to the rear and move the sleeping quarters there, eliminating use of the upstairs entirely. There will be one door off the alley that allows them to access it if necessary, but all functions will be consolidated onto the main floor.

Renovation to feature several additions, construction costs skyrocket

The $1.3 million renovation will also include new bathrooms and creating a secure entrance vestibule for visitors to be able to pay ambulance bills.

“A lot of times the public will come knocking on doors trying to figure out how to enter the building, so we will have a dedicated vestibule where billing has an office,” Wilson said.

The original plan was to build a new public safety building that would consolidate police, fire and EMS services in one facility. That plan was put on the back burner when estimated costs came in much higher than anticipated.

“Construction costs are astronomical,” Wilson said. “We’ve had to put that aside until we can bring the costs down, and I believe we are getting close.”

It’s a balance between keeping the building functional and still making it cost-effective and expandable in the future, so changing needs can be addressed, Wilson said.

“We don’t want to keep kicking the can down the road,” he said.

In the meantime, the renovation of Station 1 is set to begin March 1, and the contract states they must be done in 150 days, which would be August.

This story was originally published January 18, 2020 at 7:31 PM.