The county's next ambulance will be stationed at Braden River Fire District's Station 5, pending approval by Manatee County commissioners for the fiscal 2005-06 budget.
Chief Byron Teates told the fire district's commissioners Monday that he had met with County Administrator Ernie Padgett and Public Safety Director Karen Windon, and had received a firm commitment.
"It's needed, not only for here, but for Myakka . . . it's needed," Teates said.
Windon confirmed the pledge.
"Yes, it's going there," Windon said. "We continually look at what our response patterns are - there have been increased call loads in that area for some time."
And the timing is right, as far as the county is concerned.
"It's a good time to partner with the fire service, as they're undergoing construction," Windon said.
Station 5 is in the planning stages.
The district will purchase the five acres for the station near the northeast corner of Lorraine Road and State Road 70 from Schroeder-Manatee Ranch for approximately $20,000 per acre, a savings of approximately $80,000 per acre, according to Rex Jensen, SMR's chief executive officer.
This is not the first time SMR has championed the fire district's efforts at expansion - the developer donated the $400,000 piece of land on which its Station 4 lies, off University Parkway near Town Center.
The new station is strategically positioned to lend swift response to increasing development along Lorraine Road, as well as the coming arena.
"This represents a very significant piece of the public safety puzzle for the entire east county area," Jensen said. "Thanks should go to the fire district and the county for partnering to provide this much-needed service."
Commissioners got a look at preliminary plans for the station, which has grown from a starting point of 6,600 square feet with a $900,000 price tag, to about 7,800 square feet costing between $1 million and $1.5 million.
Some suggested changes include extra showers, more bunk space and a workout room.
"We encourage our firefighters to stay in shape," commission chairman Garry Lawson said.
Zirkelbach Construction Inc. will be the contractor. Braden River Fire Commissioner Darrell Phillips, an architect by trade, is acting as the project manager, thus saving the district money.
"We've done everything possible to keep the price as competitive as we can," Phillips said.
The station is scheduled to open in January 2006.
