Officials say South Station needs $7 million rebuild

By Greg Ellison

(April 7, 2022) After securing $1.35 million in state funding, Ocean Pines Fire Department officials are looking to rebuild the four-decade old South Station for approximately $7 million, with the community on the hook for about half the tab.

Ocean Pines Fire Department President Dave Van Gasbeck said a feasibility study had been completed by Baltimore-based architectural firm Manns Woodward Studios, who inspected the site in June 2020.

“The need is real,” he said.

The slowly percolating project recently gained financial backing due to the efforts of Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-38) and Del. Wayne Hartman (R-38C).

“In November, we met with political leaders to start discussing funding,” he said.

In January, Pines fire officials requested state bond issuance for $300,000, which was subsequently cut in half after $1.35 million was allocated for the job in Gov. Larry Hogan’s supplemental budget.

“The bond issue is still ongoing for $150,000,” he said.

The Maryland General Assembly is scheduled to vote on bond requests later this week.

“Sen. Carozza and Del. Hartman worked extraordinarily hard to get this money,” he said.

Van Gasbeck said both politicians were able to nudge Hogan to cough up significant funding.

“It wasn’t something we begged them to do” he said. “They did this on their own and went to the governor for supplemental.”

Manns Woodward officials are reworking cost estimates to be in line with current construction pricing. The overall project, which had been estimated at $6.7 million, is now anticipated to reach $7 million.

Ocean Pines Fire Chief Steve Grunewald said the next step is to explain the need for the project and its cost to residents.

Pines fire officials are prepared to pony up matching funds for the state allocation.

“We’re trying to match it out of our savings,” Van Gasbeck said. “We’re going to get very close to that.”

While about $3 million is now accounted for, a larger sum is still required.

“We’ll probably need $4 million more,” he said.

Association officials are planning a town hall on the subject by late next month to lay out the case for issuing a referendum for funding.

“We’ll both be making part of that presentation,” he said. “Manns Woodward will be doing the actual nuts and bolts construction stuff.”

Assuming the plans clear initial hurdles, a referendum vote by association members would come next, as that approach is required for all spending requests that top the million dollar mark.

“Then all bets are off,” Van Gasbeck said.

Ultimately, funding footed by residents would be added to annual assessment fees over a 30-year period.

“It would be very difficult to think the community would not support that level of funding, when our state delegates and senators worked so hard to get the other part of funding,” he said.

Grunewald said plans call for renovating existing apparatus bay areas and rebuilding the larger structure.

“From the engine bay over is being rebuilt,” he said.

Van Gasbeck said construction plans include demolishing the existing building to erect a two-story structure, while also installing additional bay space for vehicles and expanding work areas.

“It is a renovation in the sense that we are retaining the existing three bays,” he said.

The expansion would allow the department to park its entire fleet of three ambulances under cover.

The South Station, which was built in 1981 and totaled 3,200 square feet, had an addition in 1985 that included three apparatus bays and support areas totaling 4,200 square feet. Lastly, in 1985 an additional 500 square feet was added to the site.

Planned upgrades include replacing HVAC systems and adding a decontamination room.

At present, decontamination occurs at the North Station, which has laundry facilities for gear, three-compartment sinks, showers and separate toilets.

The inclusion of a decontamination area at the South Station would permit gear to be quickly cleaned after calls to hasten first responders’ turn-around time.

The project proposal includes adding a second-story, which would house training space and administrative offices, while also providing space for 10 bunk beds on the first floor.

“We currently have inadequate living quarters in comparison to other departments in the area,” he said.

Rebuilding plans would also increase space for the engineers work area and EMS supply closet.

“We really need double the amount of room to work in here,” Van Gasbeck said.

In addition to the EMS closet offering inadequate space for restocking supplies,  roof leaks have caused mold growth inside the drop ceiling.

“If you look at the insulation it’s black,” he said.

Gas heaters also need replacing.

“We had gas lines that literally fell out of the ceiling,” he said.

Despite the obvious flaws, fire officials say they are prepared to field community concerns.

“The first thing people will ask is, ‘why do we need it?’” he said.

Officials believe they have the right answers.

“The public will be able to understand what the money is going for, why we need it and what proximities mean,” he said.

On the latter point, Grunewald noted the South Station is centrally located in Ocean Pines.

“From right here we can get to anywhere in Ocean Pines within six minutes,” he said. “Thirty seconds to a minute makes a huge difference.”

Van Gasbeck said the location is situated especially well for the “golden hour” principal adhered to by emergency responders.

“You have to get medical care or hospitalized in the golden hour,” he said.

The South Station’s strategic placement suits the objective due to its close proximity to medical services.

“We have a hospital that’s only about nine minutes from us by ambulance,” he said.

Grunewald said the locale is also crucial for timely fire responses, while noting neighboring units in Berlin or Showell would take a minimum of 15 minutes to arrive on site in the Pines.

“Instead of burning one house down, you burn a block, especially if it’s on the water with wind,” he said. “If someone with cardiac arrest goes down within 15 minutes, they have no chance of surviving.”

Looking ahead, Van Gasbeck said between the introduction of medical centers near Ocean Pines, housing construction in the vicinity and a planned sports complex nearby, call volumes are destined to continue trending upward.

“If you look at our calls, we’re getting an increase on call volume just on the medical centers,” he said.

Van Gasbeck said the building project seeks to address departmental needs for the next half century.

“We’re not planning for tomorrow, we’re planning that building for 50 years,” he said.