NORTHFIELD — In preparation for the construction of a new EMS headquarters, the Highway Department tore down a house at 39 Main St. this week.
Northfield EMS Chief Matthew Wolkenbreit said he is incredibly grateful to the Highway Department, whose efforts helped save the town a large amount of money in site preparation costs so work on designing a new department headquarters can begin this spring. He added that he is especially appreciative that the crew took on the work given that the Highway Department has been busy dealing with winter weather.
“This saves us an overwhelming amount of money. I can’t even begin to estimate how much it would cost,” Wolkenbreit said. “We had to pay for the abatement process, which was done, and that money was approved at the fall Town Meeting, but [the demolition] would have been countless dollars.”
The structure at 39 Main St., which was previously a two-family home, was essentially donated to the town by Shane Burke and Megan Sullivan. The town agreed to pay them $1 and cover $110,000 in closing and abatement costs at a November Special Town Meeting, after the couple’s home sustained major smoke and water damage in a fire last June.
Town Meeting voters also approved purchasing 41 Main St. The property hosts the current home of the EMS headquarters, a 1,488-square-foot converted gas station that has been leased from Sandri since around 2012. Last July, Northfield EMS brought a roughly 700-square-foot trailer onto the site to provide extra space. The trailer contains two bedrooms, a full bathroom, laundry units, an office space, a kitchen and a living room for on-duty crew members. The town bought 41 Main St. from Sandri on Jan. 8 for $270,000.
The Highway Department was able to knock down the 39 Main St. house in about a day using an excavator. Wolkenbreit said after crews dump the debris into a dumpster, a contractor will pick up the waste and dispose of it at a landfill.
Wolkenbreit said in the spring the town will hire a project manager to oversee the design and construction of the new EMS headquarters.
“Over the next month or two, we’ll hire a project manager and get this started,” Wolkenbreit said.
He is not yet sure when construction might begin, or even what the new headquarters might look like, but he said he wants something simple that will meet the department’s needs, with bays to house vehicles and living quarters for staff.
“It’s going to be garages to fit our ambulances and living quarters for the crew,” Wolkenbreit continued. “Something simple that’s going to be resilient, durable and allow us to continue to operate and serve all the community.”