Emergency Services Coming To Southern Broadwater
Author: Eliza McLaughlin - Staff Reporter
Emergency Services Coming To Southern Broadwater Eliza McLaughlin - Staff Reporter As development in south Broadwater County continues, the Broadwater County Commissioners are preparing to improve the areas access to emergency services, and constructing an emergency services facility is the next step.
Commissioner Darrel Folkvord told MT 43 News that the proposed location for the facility is on the east side of Highway 287, directly across from the Wheatland Drive turn.
The new facility — once constructed — will contain space for a fire department, ambulance, search and rescue operations and a satellite sheriff’s office, according to a fee proposal sent to the county by Slate Architecture on Nov. 28. The building will also feature space for a training room, offices, living and dining rooms, two bedrooms, laundry, decontamination, evidence storage and two holding cells.
Outside of the building, the property will accommodate air emergency services with a helipad.
To help keep energy use and operating costs low, the facility will feature an array of solar panels.
Before workers can break ground on the new emergency service facility, Slate Architecture must conduct “preliminary architecture report”. This report will provide the county with insights into the project, such as estimated construction costs, impacts to the site and facility schematic plans.
The Nov. 28 letter to the commission proposes a “lump sum fee” of $58,090 for Slate Architecture to conduct this investigation. The fee does not include the cost of constructing the actual building.
During the commission’s Jan. 18 meeting, Deputy County Attorney Jania Hatfield recommended that the commissioners wait to approve the fee proposal until an attorney with construction expertise looked it over.
“It’s a very exciting, good project,” Hatfield said. “I just want to make sure we’re protected and doing things right.”
Hatfield clarified that her concerns with the contract were that some conditions bound the county not just for the investigation, but through the completion of the project.
Commission Chair Debi Randolph questioned what Hatfield’s expected timeline was to move forward and asked whether any attorneys that the county had previously worked with could assist with the matter.
Hatfield committed to making phone calls to other attorneys by the end of the week and pointed out that the other attorneys the county has worked with recently are not construction specialists.
