The ambulance garage near Flora suffered flooding damage inside and out for several years. Tens of thousands of dollars have been spent to replace carpeting, drywall and waterlogged equipment, which at times included computer equipment. According to county leaders, the building is at least 40 years old. Last spring, the Carroll County Commissioners declared the ambulance garage no longer usable.

“It’s just basically a pole building,” commissioners president Loren Hylton told said. “It is at least 40 years old and could become unstable.”

Hylton explained that the location in the county of the former garage is suitable. He said the parcel of land is “part of the problem” due to numerous flooding incidents. Hylton said he could not justify continuing to use taxpayer dollars to make repairs after each flood event. Hylton said many county concerns entered into the decision to liquidate the property, however no formal assessment of the situation was performed.

Commissioners directed EMS director Mike Durr to take steps necessary to sell the site near Flora.

Burlington offered to locate the second ambulance in a garage with living quarters at no cost, making it an easy decision to move the second ambulance to the western part of the county while one remained in Delphi.

The Carroll County Emergency Medical Services committee was formed more than a year ago to address funding issues for the ambulance service. The committee was designed to be an advisory committee to make recommendations to the commissioners about the best use of available funds. The county council funded personnel for a third ambulance in 2010. After the budget was adopted by the council last fall, a decision was needed about where to put the third ambulance. Commissioners followed the recommendation of the committee to house it at Delphi.

Because Camden, Flora and Yeoman expressed a desire to house a permanent third ambulance garage, the EMS committee heard proposals from each entity Dec. 14. Both Flora and Camden town leaders offered a temporary location at little or no cost if the county chose to locate a permanent garage in their area.

Neither was willing to provide a building without that guarantee.

“I think we have the best short-term plan right now,” EMS committee member and county council president Ann Brown said.

After hearing long-term proposals from all three areas and discussing the necessity to locate all ambulances where need is greatest, which is based on several factors, committee members decided to develop a five-year plan to involve the relocation of all county ambulances.

It was noted it was necessary that plans be made for long-term funding sustainability. Committee member Ron Slavens warned it would be inadvisable to establish a new facility and later learn the county could not support it financially.

“If people want to put our new plan into action, they will have to pay for it,” Brown said in a follow-up interview. “We will have to hear from the public about this. You just cannot have what you cannot pay for.”