New Building FAQs

1. Why do we need a new building?
2. Why not add on to the existing ambulance facility?
3. Where is the new ambulance facility going?
4. Wouldn’t it make more sense to keep this land available for current and future building use?
5. What are the other options for a building site?
6. Why not build on land that the town already owns?
7. Does the town really need to own another piece of property?
8. How much will the town have to spend on this building?
9. The property is currently appraised at $295,000, why is the town spending $325,000 to purchase it?
10. How much will it cost to maintain the building?
11. Who will own/maintain the building?
12. I have heard that the gas station site is contaminated. Will the site be cleaned up before the town purchases it?
13. What is the long term liability to the town regarding a future contamination claims against the property?
14. Does it make sense to close our only gas station in town?
15. Why take the gas station site off the tax rolls?
16. Do we need such a large building?
17. Is this building just to house the ambulance?
18. Why are there sleeping quarters in the building?
19. Why are we tearing down the gas station, wouldn’t it be cheaper to use the structure for the ambulance?


New Building Questions

1. Why do we need a new building?

The existing space has not met the needs of the Harwinton Ambulance Association for many years.  In fact, finding a new location for the ambulance has been an ongoing project for the last 20 years or so.

The current headquarters consists of single vehicle bay and a 16' x 16' room in the firehouse on Burlington Road. It does not provide the necessary space and resources as it lacks:

• A training/meeting area
• Bunk rooms
• Office space
• Equipment storage space
• Kitchen facilities
• Showers/decontamination area
• Secured records storage area
• Sufficient space in ambulance bay 

Our members are encouraged to spend their 12-hour duty shifts at the Ambulance Garage as much as possible in order to reduce response times; in addition to the lack of operational space, the lack of sleeping or kitchen facilities makes this extremely difficult.

More information

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2. Why not add on to the existing ambulance facility?

The current builiding and property is owned by the Harwinton Volunteer Fire Department.  There is insufficient property to allow for any further expansion of the structure.  The purchase of the gas station would not provide a viable option to add on the building for two major reasons.  First, the Fire Department would have to give up ownership of their building and property in order to combine it with the new property.  This would be required to use the grants as they can only be utilized for town owned projects.  Secondly, the steel frame structure is not designed in a way that would make an addition to the eastern side of the building practical.

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3. Where is the new ambulance facility going?

The proposed site is 166 Burlington Road.  This property is adjacent to the existing headquarters for the Harwinton Fire Department and is currently used as a gas station.

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4. Wouldn’t it make more sense to keep this land available for current and future building use?

The location of this site makes it an excellent opportunity for the town.  It is centrally located, and on a major roadway.  It is adjacent to the existing Harwinton Center Firehouse and this site will allow both emergency service organizations to share parking and other resources.  Since the land is currently zoned residential it could not be used for any commercial purpose other than the existing gas station (a non-conforming use).  The placement of a municiple building such as this would make the conforming to zoning regulations.  This means that the use of this land has very limited use in terms of economic development.

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5. What are the other options for a building site?

Ambulance association and town personnel have looked at numerous sites over the years.  Given the constraints of the grant funding, and the excellent location of the gas station site, this is our best option.

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6. Why not build on land that the town already owns?

There is not room to build on the Bentley Drive property.  The town-owned Wilcox property was also ruled out because there is a conservation easement restricting the use to open space.

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7. Does the town really need to own another piece of property?

This project is vital to the long term viability of a volunteer based EMS system in the Town of Harwinton.  The investment in town services such as this saves the taxpayers of Harwinton money in both the short and long term. A recent cost comparison shows that the Harwinton Ambulance Assocation saves taxpayers over $305,000 a year as compared to contracting out to a commercial service to provide EMS coverage.

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8. How much will the town have to spend on this building?

Funding for the project is provided by the Harwinton Ambulance Association and from $970,000 in grants already secured by the town.  NONE of the funding comes from the town's budget and there will be NO increase in taxes to purchase the land and construct the building.

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9. The property is currently appraised at $295,000, why is the town spending $325,000 to purchase it?

The appraisal is of the building as is; a gas station with some contaminated soil in a residentially zoned area.  The Town will actually be taking ownership of a clean piece of land ready to begin construction on as per the sales agreement.  

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10. How much will it cost to maintain the building?


The Ambulance Association will pay for the operating and maintenance costs out of our annual operating budget.  The Building Committee is actively looking at construction methods and buildlng systems that would help reduce long-term operating costs.  While final numbers have not been completed yet, we do not anticipate this to add significantly to our operating budget.  This estimation is largely based on the current figures taken from the center firehouse.  They spend roughly $11,000 a year on heating and electricity.  We anticipate the new structure to be less expensive than this to operate based on the fact that it is smaller, has less large open areas to heat and will be significantly more energy efficient.

Our anticipation is that we will be able to absorb a large portion if not all of these expenses in our current budget. it should be noted that even if our operating budget does need to increase to cover the expenses this is still a sensible investment in town services.  Currently the Harwinton Ambulance Association saves taxpayers $305,000 a year over contracting with a commercial service to provide similar EMS coverage. Every effort should be made to ensure that our existing EMS system has the tools it needs to continue service to the citizens of Harwinton.

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11. Who will own/maintain the building?

The Town of Harwinton will own the building, and the ambulance will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the structure.  Association volunteers will maintain the facility on a day-to-day basis. 

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12. I have heard that the gas station site is contaminated.  Will the site be cleaned up before the town purchases it?

The purchase and sale agreement protects the town from contamination concerns.  The seller is committed to remediating the property and the town is not legally obligated to take ownership until it is certified as clean by a Licensed Environmental Professional (LEP).

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13. What is the long term liability to the town regarding a future contamination claims against the property?

Over the last several years there has been significant environment testing done on the property.  This testing has been monitored by the DEEP and once there have been five quarters of acceptable readings, it will have met their requirements.  The site currently has four quarters of acceptable readings, reducing the risk of additional off site contamination concerns.  Additionally, since the town is not using the property as a gas station, contamination issues resulting  from its previous use would be directed towards the current owners by the DEEP.  Further protection is provided by the "innocent landowner" statute as the Town was not responsible for the initial contamination and is protected as a governmental entity.

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14. Does it make sense to close our only gas station in town?

Harwinton recently gained a second gas station on Birge Park Road (Rt 4) at the intersection with Spring Hill Road so the modification of the property will not result in losing the only gas station in town.

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15. Why take the gas station site off the tax rolls?

The gas station currently pays $4,350 a year in taxes.  While it is always important to preserve the existing tax base it is equally if not more important to look at the overal impact a project has on the budget long term.  It is also important to understand that his is zoned residential (business is non-conforming) which does not allow for the site to be developed for use as a business beyond how it is currently being used.

While conversion of this site to an ambulance headquarters would result in the loss of $4,350 of tax revenue to the town, the sound investment in town services results in potentially far greater savings.  The Harwinton Ambulance Assocation currently saves the taxpayers $305,000 a year over contracting with a commercial ambulance service for similar coverage.  A continued investment in the existing EMS system provides long term savings to the taxpayer. As such,the site provides a greater value to the town as an ambulance facility.  

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16. Do we need such a large building?

At approximately 4,600 SF, the building is comparable to or in some instances, smaller than the neighboring towns’ ambulance facilities.  It will be roughly 1,300 SF smaller than each of the firehouses in town. It is designed to include all of the basic features needed in this type of facility.  In addition, this building will also house the town’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC).  One of the important criteria for an EOC is to have sufficient facilities to house and feed an emergency staff 24 hrs a day during the length of a townwide incident.

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17. Is this building just to house the ambulance?

No, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) will be relocated to the new building from its existing office in the basement of the town hall.  This will allow the EOC to be close to emergency responders during a town-wide emergency as well as providing sleeping, shower and kitchen facilties for members staffing the EOC.  The need for these resources was demostrated recently during hurricane Irene when the EOC was run from Town Hall.  By moving the EOC to the ambulance facility it also allows for the potential for funds earmarked for these types of centers to be used in the construction of the building.

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18. Why are there sleeping quarters in the building?

By having sleeping quarters, members are able to respond to calls during overnight shifts directly from the ambulance building, thereby reducing response times.  In addition, during major storms, there is a need for additional personnel to stay at the ambulance facility.  In either case the main goal is to ensure reduced response times.  Additionally the town's Emergency Operations Center (EOC) will be run from this building for which bunk rooms may be needed as well.   

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19. Why are we tearing down the gas station, wouldn’t it be cheaper to use the structure for the ambulance?

The current owners would only sell the property to the Town if they could demolish the building allowing for the full remediation of contamination that is currently under the gas station building.  Additionally this allows for a structure that is designed completely around the usage it is intended for.

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