It’s no secret public service involves putting out a lot of fires — figuratively speaking at least. Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman, however, has made it a priority to put out actual fires.
Elkridge Fire Station to be Complete by 2018
Last week, the Kittleman Administration announced Elkridge residents can confidently expect a new fire station by the summer of 2018. That’s nearly a decade after local officials first started planning for it.
After taking office, Kittleman realized that, despite years of planning and even a 2014 groundbreaking ceremony, plans for a new Elkridge fire station were incomplete. The project lacked adequate funding, and several longstanding logistical issues remained.
With the age of the existing facility now reaching into its seventh decade, I knew we had move quickly. If we are serious about decreasing response times, then we have to make the appropriate investments in infrastructure. – Allan Kittleman
In 2015, members of the Kittleman administration worked with the Elkridge Volunteer Fire Department to examine what it would take to get this project to the finish line. One matter seriously complicating things was the fact that bids to build the station came in much higher than were initially expected. It became apparent in 2015, construction of a facility worthy of serving the Elkridge community required more funds than were originally budgeted by the previous Administration.
With County Executive Kittleman committed to making progress on this long overdue project, he worked with the Elkridge Volunteer Fire Department to ensure the funding was in place to complete the project. He allocated nearly $4 million in his 2017 budget and the Elkridge VFD has agreed to pay a portion, as well. Together, they were able to provide the necessary funding to finally get the new station moving!
Scheduled for completion in 2018, the new 34,000 square foot station will include a community meeting room, sleeping quarters for 23 emergency services personnel, a kitchen and training room, and space for several fire trucks and other emergency vehicles. It will be located on Montgomery Road between Bauman and Rowanberry drives.
Public Safety a Kittleman Priority
Public safety is a huge priority for Allan Kittleman, as the Elkridge Fire Station isn’t the only new and improved fire station slated for completion in 2018.
With the overarching goal of reducing emergency response times throughout the county, Kittleman also apportioned $9 million for a new 30,000 square-foot station at the intersection of Route 1 and Port Capital Drive in Waterloo.
In Howard County, we are very fortunate to be served by some of the very best responders in America. They routinely put their lives in danger to save others and, while we call them heroes, they call it their job.
If investing in facilities and new technologies will better equip emergency personnel so they can save lives, then those are investments my Administration will get behind. – Allan Kittleman
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