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Committee endorses moving ahead with EMS headquarters design at Cooler Track
Summary
Staff presented an accelerated plan to locate a new Beaufort County EMS headquarters at Cooler Track and the committee indicated general support for issuing an RFQ to begin design work, citing deteriorating conditions at the existing 1966 EMS facility and a 2.5‑year delivery goal under an accelerated schedule.
Beaufort County staff proposed using Cooler Track as the site for a new county EMS headquarters and described an accelerated approach to jump‑start design work and avoid further deferred maintenance costs. Staff said the existing EMS building (built 1966) is deteriorating, and long‑term renovation offers diminishing returns, making replacement the fiscally prudent option.
Presenter (speaker 24) said the plan would put EMS as the first phase of a larger public safety campus; program plans include 4–6 equipment bays, 24/7 operations, administrative offices, training spaces and staff wellness support. An accelerated schedule would move from design kickoff to permitting in 6–18 months and construction in 18–30 months, with the facility potentially operational within about 2.5 years if the committee gives direction to proceed.
Committee members expressed broad support for moving the project forward quickly and asked technical questions about CIP funding and the timing provisions in the Cooler Track closing documents. Staff said the County has roughly $9.5 million identified for the broader campus and that an RFQ to begin design is the proposed next step; staff also said some minor renovations to the current facility could be funded while design proceeds so critical operations are maintained.
No formal roll-call vote was required; staff reported multiple "head nods" to proceed and said the next steps would be to issue an RFQ for design, scope cost estimates and return with refined project budget options.
Provenance: topicintro SEG 779, topfinish SEG 1143.
