The Carroll County Board of Commissioners must decide whether to allocate between $400,000 and $1.7 million to build a new public safety training center in Westminster.
County staff and first responders met with the board Thursday to discuss the project, which includes building an apparatus building to store equipment and a new two-story building with classrooms, offices and an auditorium. The total cost of the project has gone up from $4.4 million to $6.1 million.
The increased price tag is associated with high-priced building materials and expensive building regulations that were not initially identified, said Scott Moser, the county's bureau chief of building construction. The county has allocated $4.4 million to finish the entire project.
If the board decides to allocate an additional $400,000, Moser said they can build the new classroom building, which will be attached to the 30-year-old "bunker building" already at the training center. The board could also choose to allocate an additional $1.7 million on top of its $4.4 million and pay for the entire project, including the classroom and apparatus buildings, Moser said.
Commissioner Richard Rothschild, R-District 4, expressed concern that the county could be spending too much money on the classroom building. Rothschild said the construction plans could be modified so that the classroom building had less frills and would be made from steel, which would significantly cut costs.
Dennis Brothers, president of the Carroll County Volunteer Emergency Services Association, stressed the importance of building the classroom building with certain features, like Internet access and teaching equipment. A great training facility allows first responders to practice real-life situations on-site, then go into a classroom to learn more, Brothers said.
Training is important, he said, because it reduces the number of accidents, injuries and deaths that occur in the field. A good training center is also crucial in bringing in new recruits and retaining volunteers, Brothers said.
Ted Zaleski, director of the county's Department of Management and Budget, said the board could cover the increased project costs. If the board wanted to pay for the project in the current Fiscal Year 2014, Zaleski said the county could use money left over from the development of the county's emergency radio system.
There are more financial options available, he said, if the county wanted to wait until Fiscal Year 2015.
Chief of Staff Steve Powell said the discussion on the training center will be continued at a meeting next week. A time and date for the meeting has not yet been finalized.
