OC opts to 'pump the brakes' on new fire station

In the wake of millions of proposed spending, the Ocean City Council has opted to pump the brakes on a new fire station.

On Tuesday, March 28, the Ocean City Council voted 4-3 to not go forward in spending $30,000 on preliminary designs for a new Station 3 building.

Citing a lack of immediate need and past spending, including a proposed $25 million public works campus master plan at 66th Street and $2 million on the purchase of a lot on St. Louis Avenue, the council decided to suspend the discussion on the property until an immediate need is found.

This delay in the process could save the city $3.3 million in expenditures in the short term, with the council using Station 4, completed in 2014, as a benchmark.

The proposed new station would be placed at 65th Street, making it the most central town fire station.

Council member Wayne Hartman argued that the station as it stands, located between 74th and 75th streets on Coastal Highway, has plenty of life left in it, referencing Chief Chris Larmore has said the station could last another five years.

"I could want a new car every two years," Hartman said. "Just because I put that on my financial strategy plan doesn't mean it's possible."

Noting fiscal concerns, Hartman made a motion to reject bids on the construction survey, and instead use the $30,000 toward renovation of the existing station.

READ MORE: OC and firefighters union reach agreement on shifts

Council member Dennis Dare said the motion to move the $30,000 toward renovations was irresponsible, and would act only as a financial drain.

"Thirty-thousand dollars to put a band-aid on it is a waste of taxpayer money," Dare said.

While he agreed there is no need for immediate construction, City Engineer Terry McGean argued it could be a slippery slope into tossing an undue amount of money into a building that is outdated.

"If this is a short-term, keep the station running expense, that's one thing," McGean said. "But if it's sink $100,000 into a building, that's another thing that we can't do."

Lack of space for live-in firefighters and a ventilation system for engine exhaust were the two most pressing matters that prompted the need for a new station.

Larmore was content in putting the project on pause. However, noting rising property property prices in Ocean City and the surrounding area, he argued, the need for live-in firefighters was crucial.

"If the council decided, economically, to put the project on hold, I'd be OK with that," Larmore said. "But the need is there."

The rising property prices have forced firefighters to live outside of Ocean City, and have established a need to have live-in firefighters, Dare said.

READ MORE: Lack of fire engines threatens volunteers' standing

"We've been talking about this for 14 years and have crossed a lot of hurdles, including the Station 4 headquarters," Dare said. "We have to be looking at how we're going to address our needs, and it's becoming more of a challenge to have volunteers live here, even in West Ocean City."

Ultimately, the move to withhold funding until a need becomes paramount is a matter of better fiscal planning, said council member John Gehrig.

"It doesn't sound like there's harm to press pause," Gehrig said. "We talk about spending money every meeting. Maybe we should just the pump the brakes because, right now, I don't know if I want to put money into this building."

The motion to not go forward with the preliminary plans ultimately passed with a 4-3 vote, with Dare, council member Lloyd Martin and council secretary Mary Knight in opposition.