Better EMS Station May Be on the Way for Vance County, N.C.

(TNS) – Vance County Commissioners met Tuesday evening to discuss, among other items, moving forward with the process to acquire land adjacent to the county’s emergency services station on Bickett Street for a new EMS station, a decision which sparked some discussion before it ultimately passed.

The commissioners’ Properties Committee met last month to discuss the resolution and invited members of the Public Safety Committee. The latter could not participate in the closed session of that meeting.

“We know that EMS is in desperate need of a better facility,” Commissioner Carolyn Faines, who sits on the Public Safety Committee , said. “That’s my input, we were invited, but we didn’t — I didn’t have any say-so or — didn’t really get the fullness of what really happened.”

Commissioner Dan Brummitt spoke next.

“Just like Commissioner Faines here, I do know we are in need of a new EMS facility,” Brummitt said. “This property, I believe, is overpriced. This piece of property also has topographical challenges which will increase the amount of excavation and all that will be required in order to put a facility there.

“When you look at the heat maps, the majority of [calls] are in the southern part of the city, and not up around the area where we’re talking about putting the station,” he added.

The money that would be used to acquire the property comes from the American Rescue Plan Act, which must be obligated by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026. Thus, no need to hurry.

“I believe we’re moving too quickly to jump on this piece of overpriced property, that’s gonna have additional cost of development, and moving in a direction that I don’t believe is the right direction that’s going to be most efficient for the long-term growth of this county,” Brummitt concluded.

Commissioner Yolanda Feimster asked Brummitt if he had another piece of property to recommend. He had none. She questioned if the county could perform a feasibility study on the “so we can make sure we’re getting the best piece of property for our money.”

Commissioner Archie Taylor pointed out that the EMS director, Javier Plummer , recommended that the board go forward with the resolution. Feimster called for Plummer to speak and give his reasoning for choosing the location. Plummer, who was in attendance, obliged.

The location, Plummer said, provides easy access to many areas in the county.

“There really isn’t another location that is going to be prime. What we don’t want to do is, we don’t want to be taken off the beaten path,” Plummer said. “Once you get on that path, you can get to somewhere. But if you take us too far off the beaten path, we have to get to the beaten path before we can even attempt to go anywhere.”

Notes from the Properties Committee in June noted that data showed that the location adjacent to the Bickett Street station offered 8-minute response times across all calls. It also notes that additional grading may be required due to the slope of the terrain.

Brummitt said later in a phone call that the property was overpriced as the real estate market is currently a “premium market” but ought to soften over time, citing a recent speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

Brummitt asked Plummer if the director had read the “comprehensive, long-term plan that the Public Safety Committee has been engaged in for a number of years as far as putting units up north and south,” to which Plummer said no. County Manager Jordan McMillen said he has looked at the plan and that “we’re in conversation with someone up in Williamsboro right now to potentially purchase some land up there. So we are fully aware of the idea of having a northern substation and are planning for that.”

Discussion wrapped up and the board moved to vote. The resolution passed five to two.

In other action, if you’re not connected to the county water system, keep an eye on your mailbox. At Tuesday’s meeting, the commissioners passed a resolution instituting a two-month signup incentive campaign. Mail is one way they’ll get the word out. The campaign will lower the cost of connection to $125 down from around $1,750 for areas covered by the county’s water system.

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