OVRS Building Chairman Grover B. Katzman wrote to the city council asking for a resolution of support in the building of the new station to be located on Route 812, just outside of the city in the town of Oswegatchie. The council gave its support Monday night.
The plan, according to Mr. Katzman when reached for comment Tuesday, is to apply to the U.S. Department of Department of Agriculture as well as other federal and state grant funding sources to raise funds for the approximately $3 million building project.
A "certification of support" can help with the grants, according to Mr. Katzman, to show that the community is behind the project.
The current OVRS building, located at 100 State St. and leased from the Ogdensburg Housing Authority, is too small for the current operation and doesn't even conform to OSHA guidelines, according to Mr. Katzman.
"It's not up to the standards it should be," he said. "We've completely outgrown it."
The new building would be approximately 15,000-square-feet in size and it would have four bays that would be able to hold two vehicles in each. It would also have enough space for a meeting and training rooms. Currently, the OVRS members have to meet at the hospital once a month, according to Mr. Katzman.
"We're planning not only for now, but the future. The way it's designed now, it can be added onto when we need the extra space," he said.
In memos given to city council, department heads gave favorable reviews on the new location of the rescue squad building.
Police Chief Richard J. Polniak Jr. wrote that he didn't see any obvious negatives to the move and that it may enhance response times.
"I would agree that there is a possibility that response times to the extreme west and west ends of the city, may actually be shortened as a result of closer proximity to Route 37 access," Mr. Polniak wrote.
Fire Chief Steven N. Badlam agreed.
"It would take the OVRS out of the Greenbelt and centrally locate them in a strategic position on the south border of the city," wrote Mr. Badlam, adding "All in all, this move would create a safer, more efficient emergency response environment for our citizens and responders."
City council unanimously passed the resolution.
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OGDENSBURG — The Ogdensburg Volunteer Rescue Squad is moving forward with plans to leave its crowded State Street station.
Plans to build a larger station on a 25-acre plot of land between Routes 812 and 37 are being developed by Mitchell Associates Architects, Albany, for $25,000. According to OVRS Director of Operations Kenneth J. Gardner, the main requirement for the new facility is that it is larger than the current 5,000-square-foot facility.
"We're kind of squeezed into the building that we're in at this time," Mr. Gardner said. "Our services continue to grow and we have more and more equipment that needs to be stored. We're just pretty much out of room."
Over the past year membership has jumped from about 55 to 62 volunteers and paid staffers. This has strained the facility and forced the squad to train outside and hold meeting in the Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center auditorium, Mr. Gardner said.
"We're one of the few in New York state that has continued to grow in numbers instead of decrease," Mr. Gardner said. "We need to have our own training facility. To stay current and as good as our people are, we train a lot."
The squad paid $250,000 for the 25-acre plot last year with interest from endowment funds donated to the squad. The OVRS also is using the interest to cover the costs of designing soil testing for the project, but officials hope to pay for the complex, expected to cost several million, with grants and fundraisers.
The squad has occupied the State Street station since the 1970s. Mr. Gardner said the OVRS board is still discussing what might be done with the building and property when the new station opens.
"There has been talk that should it ever come we would consider holding on to the building for our water rescue and extrication," he said. "But there's been discussion both ways, one that we release it and the other that we maintain it for training purposes."
