Brian Hubert
Daily Freeman, Kingston, N.Y.
(TNS)
Aug. 17—KINGSTON, N.Y. — The city is mulling purchasing a building currently owned by WMCHealth at 18-30 O’Reilly St. across from the Kingston Fire Department’s Central Station that city officials say could house the department’s heavy fire trucks and preserve the floor at the 115-plus-year-old fire station.
Mayor Steve Noble presented the proposal to buy the 13,000-square-foot building to the Common Council’s Finance and Audit Committee on Wednesday, Aug. 14.
If the council approves the purchase, the city would use federal American Rescue Plan Act money to hire an engineering firm that would work alongside City Engineer John Schultheis to prepare a plan for how the building could be best utilized by the Fire Department. Schultheis told lawmakers it was too early to say what a sales price would be or what the renovations may cost.
The building does need some work, Noble admitted. Lawmakers did not take action on the proposal.
Noble said his proposal to buy this building comes at a time when the Fire Department is crunched for space at its Midtown headquarters, especially after it took over ambulance services from private provider Empress EMS at the start of this year.
The Central Fire Station built in 1908 has a basement and that presents a challenge because the department has had to park its very heavy fire trucks on a concrete slab over this basement leading to significant wear and tear, he said.
“We’ve been using this building for so long, it’s beyond its ability to hold a very heavy fire truck,” he said.
Sara Pasti, D-Ward 1, agreed.
“I took a tour and it’s very clear the cement slab is not meant to hold fire engines,” Pasti said. “Only using it for ambulances will extend the life of the floor.”
The fire service has changed a lot in the building’s more than 115-year-old history, City Engineer John Schultheis added.
If the city buys this building, the very heavy fire trucks and apparatus could be moved across the street to this former HealthAlliance building, with the bays that currently house fire engines housing ambulances, which are much lighter and would greatly limit the risk of future structural damage to the building, Noble said.
Kingston Fire Chief Chris Rea emphasized the importance of keeping the ambulances in one location. Central Station is that location, he added.
This location in the center of the city allows for the fastest average response times, especially when multiple ambulances are out running calls and patients would have to wait for an ambulance to come from the other side of the city, he said.
He said breaking up the ambulances would also present challenges in how the department secures narcotic drugs used for the treatment of patients.
Right now these drugs are kept in a locked cabinet monitored by camera and the drugs are counted every day by two people, Rea said. If the ambulances were broken up this administration and control would become much more difficult to manage, he predicted.
Noble said a 2020 study found deficiencies with the floor at the Central Station.
And that study was conceived before the city even considered taking over the ambulance service, Schultheis added.
The study ruled out the feasibility of rehabbing the current Central Station or building a new fire station, Schultheis said.
Michael Tierney, D-Ward 2, inquired about what the city would do with the current building after it purchases the property.
Schultheis said the city would keep about 9,000-10,000 square feet of the present building while knocking down about 3,500-4,000 square feet to allow the vehicle bays to be rebuilt. “The present dimensions are not quite sufficient for fire trucks,” he added.
The renovation project would involve about 4,000 square feet of new construction, Schultheis said. Rea added that this would be designed to ensure fire trucks would not stick out onto the street while leaving an apron for the many Kingston High School students who use O’Reilly Street to walk to school.
“We do not want to push them out into the street,” Rea asserted.
Noble said the city first considered purchasing the building two years ago and they were surprised to find the healthcare conglomerate that operates HealthAlliance Hospital had already put it on the market. “Unbeknownst to us, it was on the market and in a contract for sale to another individual,” he added.
Noble said he contacted HealthAlliance and told them they should have talked to the city first, as it could use the building at a site where the city already has parking for staff and where also it parks fire trucks.
He added that he asked WMCHealth if they would be willing to sell the building to the city and they ended the contract with the other individual.
Noble said over the years, the building has housed the Happy Apple Thrift store, was used for storage, and a long time ago was used by an ambulance company.
The city would also obtain six parking spots in the adjacent parking lot, Schultheis said. He added that WMCHealth plans to continue using the balance of the parking spaces.
Steve Schabot, D-Ward 8, questioned if the block of East O’Reilly Street in front of Central Station could be cordoned off from the public for exclusive fire department use.
Schultheis said he doesn’t know any way to turn this portion of a public street into a private response area while Rea said there is too much traffic in the area, including city Department of Public Works vehicles to close the street.
Tierney questioned what considerations will be made for energy efficiency.
Schultheis said the city has a keen interest in using carbon-free heating and cooling systems.
Originally Published: August 17, 2024 at 2:17 p.m.
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