A replacement station for North Country EMS on the west side of the agency’s coverage area has received another quarter-million dollars in funding.
During its June 27 meeting, the Clark County Council voted unanimously to approve $250,000 of unassigned American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for North Country EMS’ Fargher Lake station. The council previously approved $2.5 million in ARPA funding for the project in August. The project will replace a 1,188-square-foot mobile home with a 5,000-square-foot facility.
North Country EMS Chief Bryce Shirley told the council the original plan for the facility remains the same.
“The intent here is not to change the original design or what we forecasted the project to be, it’s just merely to finish the project,” Shirley said.
The project initially cost close to $6 million for both the architectural and construction work, according to a staff report provided to the council.
“Due to unforeseen construction circumstances and supply issues, weather delays, and excessive increases in the cost of materials and building equipment, the ‘change order’ costs for the (project) are exceeding budgetary limitations,” the staff report read.
Shirley gave the example of an eight-day weather delay due to snow that resulted in a $30,000 increase. He mentioned other issues like the need for more wind-resistant doors and a backordered electrical transformer.
Councilor Gary Medvigy reacted to the need for an increase in funding.
“The price tag keeps jumping up and it’s not just attributed to the cost of materials going up,” Medvigy said.
Although this was the only time additional funds were requested since the project’s initial approval, a prior proposal before August’s allocation came in lower. The first request from North Country EMS to the county was $1 million in 2021, but construction costs increased dramatically last year.
Medvigy is still in support of the project and said he didn’t want to see any delays in its completion.
“We need to nail this down. We need to get this built,” Medvigy said. “And this is one of those projects that we will have for many decades to benefit the north county as a result of expenditure of this money.”
Medvigy does not want to see North Country EMS return in several months for more funds. That won’t be the case, as Shirley said the new facility is expected to be completed by Oct. 11.
“It could potentially be completed quicker than that,” though the emergency services agency will still deal with the same issues that resulted in the request for additional funding, Shirley said.
The county has about $7.9 million of its ARPA funds that have not been committed to a project or program, according to information included alongside the staff report. The county has committed around $87 million in funds with about $40 million spent.
The county has until 2026 to spend the funds, county finance director Mark Gassaway told the council.
Councilor Sue Marshall, who serves on the North Country EMS board as part of her council duties, said the agency runs a good program.
“I think this is one of the exemplary projects for the use of ARPA funds that’s providing additional medical and emergency services in a rural area that otherwise wouldn’t be served as well,” Marshall said.
She noted working in such a rural environment provides challenges to provide emergency services.
Given the total cost of the project, councilor Glen Yung said the request was reasonable.
“That’s really not bad given the construction environment today,” Yung said.
