Dirt flies at Waterbury Ambulance Station Creation ceremony
June 8, 2024 | By Lisa Scagliotti
Waterbury Ambulance Service leaders and Station Creation project team members get digging. Photo by Gordon Miller
Waterbury Ambulance Service’s decade-long dream of a new ambulance station took a giant step toward becoming a reality this week with a ceremonial groundbreaking kicking off project construction in downtown Waterbury.
On Thursday evening, about 40 people – crew members, friends and financial supporters – gathered at the building site on Demeritt Place just off South Main Street with shovels and hard hats to mark the start of building efforts on the agency’s long-awaited “Station Creation” project.
Photo by Gordon Miller
Ambulance Service Board of Trustees President Sally Dillon called it a “monumental” occasion in the organization’s 53-year history, pointing out those in the gathering who have been involved since 1971 such as founding members Bob Jones and Dick White.
“Our growth and success as a service and as a community are a testament to the dedication and hard work of those who came before us,” she said. “We stand on the shoulders of giants and their commitment and passion have brought us to this occasion.”
Ambulance crew members, many in uniform, looked on along with members of the building planning committee and project team including architect Mark Wheeler from EH Danson and Associates and engineer John Grenier. Construction contractor EF Wall from Barre has been hired for the project at the two-acre lot between the Sunoco station and railroad tracks. Project planners say the aim is for the ambulance service to be settled into the new headquarters by spring 2025.
Named the Vermont Ambulance Service of the Year in 2021, Waterbury Ambulance serves Waterbury, much of Duxbury and part of Moretown on a regular basis and responds to assist other nearby local EMS agencies as well.
Owned by the town of Waterbury, the agency’s current station is located on Guptil Road near the town Highway Department facilities. The ambulance operation has long outgrown the modest 2,400-square-foot building built in 1983 by Harwood Union High School students in a construction technology class. Around 2015, the organization began planning for a new station.
That effort slowed somewhat in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic and the ambulance service’s focus to be a key provider of thousands of tests and vaccinations locally and around the region in addition to its usual emergency responses, patient transport calls, trainings, and backcountry rescue operations.
In October 2022, the agency lost a key member of its team when Executive Director Mark Podgwaite died unexpectedly at age 60. Podgwaite not only led daily operations, but he was managing the station project in its early siting, design and permitting phases. Dillon acknowledged his role at the groundbreaking. “We all wish he were here tonight to celebrate this moment with us, but we know he is cheering us on and is here in spirit,” she said.
Thursday’s groundbreaking comes about a year later than originally expected after plans shifted from building on a site along Vermont Route 100 just north of Guptil Road last year. The ambulance service originally planned to build alongside Copley Hospital’s Mansfield Orthopaedics offices that are under construction there. Costs associated with site work and construction of a fire suppression system for the facility grew, prompting the project team to rethink its site plan. By late 2023, the agency had secured the downtown property on municipal water and sewer instead.
Executive Director Maggie Burke said the move has resulted in a spot better suited for the ambulance’s role in the community. “We’re smack-dab in the middle of our service area here,” she said, noting that the downtown spot will be convenient for staff and for community members.
She credits Grenier for work to address floodplain concerns about the location. Review for local and state permits focused on stormwater issues at the site that stem from runoff from higher ground. Sitework planned for the project is designed to improve drainage for the ambulance location and adjacent neighboring properties, she said.
Front (top) and side view architect’s drawings of the new Waterbury Ambulance Service station. Images by EH Danson and Associates
With the new location, design plans have been modified somewhat to fit the new site and keep the project within budget. Burke explained that the structure will be elevated and slightly smaller than the original four-bay 6,600 square foot design. It’s been scaled back to three bays but still contains all of the essential elements including sleeping quarters for on-call staff, a kitchen, laundry area and training room. Burke said the station won’t have a dedicated bay for the Waterbury Backcountry Rescue Team vehicles and gear to start; the group is exploring several options that won’t involve new construction in an effort to contain costs at this time.
The current cost estimate for the project is $4.8 million. Burke said fundraising so far is within $1.4 million of that goal thanks to funding from more than 500 sources including private donations, federal grants, and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) pandemic-relief funding from the three municipalities. Ambulance officials say they may need to finance a portion of the project cost, but they are hoping that donations and grants will keep borrowing to a minimum. (Waterbury Ambulance is an independent non-profit organization, so contributions are tax-deductible.)
Burke calls the final fundraising phase “a leap of faith” and shared some ideas for getting creative such as assembling a wish list of items needed to outfit the station that supporters could purchase to donate. In-kind contributions as the project moves along can also play a role in covering some costs.
Waterbury Ambulance Service Trustees President Sally Dillon (center in white) speaks at the groundbreaking alongside Executive Director Maggie Burke. Photo by Gordon Miller
Reaching the groundbreaking has momentum, Burke said. “We’ve decided to put a lot of faith in our community that they’re going to make this happen for us,” she said. “I am so overwhelmed with gratitude for the community that has rallied around our vision and supported us every step of the way. The collective effort, generosity and unwavering belief in our mission have been truly inspiring.”