By Virginia Dean
A public tour and informational meeting for a proposed remodeling and new addition to the Woodstock Emergency Services building will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 4 from 1 to 5 p.m.
“We began looking into the idea of a remodeling or new building last February,” said Woodstock Fire Department Chief David Green. “The building has become too cramped and our needs have changed.”
The committee for a new emergency services building has met several times over the last year. All three services, (fire, police, ambulance) currently held in the building have agreed that remodeling and a new building are needed.
The 6,500-square foot building, located at 454 Woodstock Road, is also under federal and state guidelines and is relegated to meet those standards as well, Green explained. The new building will be a “code heavy building,” according to Green who is also an Assistant State Fire Marshall.
The proposal includes a complete remodeling of the existing building and a smaller addition of 5,000 square feet out back. The architects are Nimtz, Berryhill, Figiel (NBF) Architects, P.C. of Rutland that specializes in commercial buildings.
The remodeling of the current building inside would include an office, dispatch center and fire and ambulance bays, and the second floor would contain several offices, Green explained.
The layout would be new so some current bays would be eliminated and remodeled into offices and holding cells. There would be no changes to the outside except as needed with repairs.
The new addition would include bays and workspace on the first floor and living quarters with a few offices on the second floor.
“We currently house some of our employees off site,” said Green, “but we want them on site.”
The cost is projected to be $3 million, which will be presented as a bond to the town meeting in March 2020, Green said.
“This is an estimated cost right now because we don’t have the official numbers back from the estimator,” said Green.
If the bond is approved, the EMS Department will apply for local and state permits as required by law.
In addition to the one on Dec. 4, there will be two other open houses on future dates, which will be announced soon, Green said.
In the meantime, the public is urged to stop by anytime on Dec. 4 from 1-5 p.m. and to view the power point presentation about the future of the EMS building.
The Woodstock Fire/EMS building is located at 454 Woodstock Road in Woodstock, next to Woodstock Home and Hardware just East of downtown on Route 4 East.
For more information visit woodstockfire-ems.org or call 802-457-2337 (non-emergency line).
