Possible EMS substation being considered
The Alamance County Rescue Unit may have found a way to assist with the county’s ongoing efforts to set up a new EMS substation in the vicinity of Mebane.
Last week, the county’s board of commissioners went into closed session to discuss the potential purchase of property from this all-volunteer organization, which deals in heavy rescue and other specialized operations within Alamance County’s borders.
This closed-door discussion, which took up about 50 minutes at the end of an otherwise open meeting on Monday, also delved into an unrelated corporate development about which the commissioners said nothing either before, or after, their confidential huddle. But unlike economic development matters, the county is obligated to disclose certain details about any property purchase that its governing board goes behind closed doors to discuss.
In compliance with the N.C. Open Meetings Law, Alamance County’s attorney Rik Stevens prefaced Monday’s closed session by saying that the commissioners would consider the acquisition of two parcels that the rescue unit currently owns in Mebane for potential use by the county’s Emergency Medical Services.
In a subsequent interview, Stevens elaborated that the county is considering using these lots specifically for a new substation to serve the fast-growing area around Mebane.
“Right now, there’s nothing out there,” he added. “[The rescue unit] has proposed to sell us the property, and we just want to make sure it’s suitable for our use.”
According to county land records, the two parcels in question are located next to the Amick Equipment Company at 2040 South Third Street and across from the Governor’s Green subdivision. The rescue unit originally acquired both of these lots for $148,000 in April of 2007. According to the county’s tax office, these lots are both presently vacant and command a combined tax value of $108,268.
One of the higher priority items on the county’s to-do list, the development of an EMS substation near Mebane is currently expected to cost local taxpayers $3,540,000. This project is not to be confused with a consolidated emergency services center that that county plans to set up in Burlington within an existing facility that had formerly been home to BD Diagnostics.
