Cleveland County approves $2.2 million toward joint Waco Volunteer Fire Department/EMS facility

The Cleveland County Board of Commissioners approved county funding toward a joint construction project with the Waco Volunteer Fire Department to build a new EMS and fire facility on county-owned Parcel 67263.

County staff presented a joint-construction and ownership agreement and said the total project cost figure as read in the meeting transcript was garbled. Staff clearly asked the board to appropriate $2,200,000 to cover the county’s 40% share of construction costs and to provide roughly $360,000 for contingency and furniture, fixtures and equipment. Staff described a 60/40 split, with Waco Volunteer Fire Department responsible for 60% of construction and operating costs and the county responsible for 40%.

Staff described the building footprint and features the county would receive access to: two drive-through apparatus bays, a kitchen, day room, two bedrooms, restrooms, two storage rooms and a generator. The property cited by staff is five acres the county had deeded for the project (Parcel 67263) and the board was told the location is near the Foothills public shooting range and landfill.

Staff said the county would fund the project through a pay-as-you-go draw on fund balance. Commissioners asked about space allocation for the sheriff’s office and EMS operations; staff said the sheriff’s office would have some allocated space and that an EMS unit would move to the new permanent location.

The board moved and unanimously approved the manager’s recommendation to fund the county’s portion of the project.

Next steps: staff will execute the joint-construction and ownership agreement and proceed with the construction budget appropriation and related procurement steps.