Edmond approves new fire station, agreement with new ambulance provider

EDMOND — Council members recently authorized the construction of a new fire station to serve the community's northwest area and bought land on the other side of town for a station that will be built in the future.

They also approved a $660,000 contract with American Medical Response Inc. to provide Edmond with continuous ambulance service and moved along efforts to address residents' mental health needs by signing off on the city's plans to continue to work with area nonprofits and schools to provide expanded services through a program it named Flourish.

Work on the fire station will start soon and should be completed during the first half of 2025.

Edmond Fire Station 6 to support three fire apparatuses, crews

The new station will be built by Shiloh Enterprises Inc. at 5032 N Kelly Ave., just north of Cross Timbers Elementary School about a third of a mile south of Kelly's intersection with Sorghum Mill Road.

Eight contractors bid for the job, and Shiloh Enterprises' offer to do it for $7.49 million was the best the city received (about $750,000 more than what originally was budgeted). Officials expect it will take the contractor about 450 days to complete the project once work begins in early January.

Edmond Fire Chief Chris Goodwin said the station is being built on land Edmond bought specifically for that use about 15 years ago.

Edmond opened its most recent fire station on Covell Road just east of its intersection with Interstate 35 in 2005, when Edmond fire apparatuses were making about 4,000 calls annually.

Call volumes have doubled, while a growing population and plans for future development also triggered the department's decision to build the new station now, Goodwin said.

"We like to have a station within 4 minutes of travel time to our calls, and this is an area of our city that did not have that," he said.

Homes for future fire station and water, electric systems established on other side of I-35

At the same meeting, council members approved a request from city officials to spend about $2.25 million to acquire 13.4 acres of land on Coffee Creek Road's south side east of Douglas Boulevard as the location where it will build a future fire station to serve that part of the community as it continues to grow.

The site is big enough to also allow room for a future ground storage water tank, a water pump station and an electric substation, Chief Goodwin told council members.

Money for the purchase is being drawn from Edmond's fire, water and electric reserve funds. About 3 acres will be used for the new fire station.

"Depending on development, we will be looking at putting a fire station at that location within six to 15 years," Goodwin said. The other projects could be built in a decade or two.

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Chief Goodwin said Edmond's goal is to keep home insurance rates reasonable as new housing additions are added to the community. In order to achieve a good rate, a fire station should be located within five road miles of the owner's home or business.

"The only areas of our community that don't have a fire station within 5 road miles is northeast and southeast Edmond," Goodwin said.

Edmond approves formal agreement with new ambulance service provider

A dedicated ambulance service will arrive in Edmond in early January.

The agreement with American Medical Response Inc. is good for a year, with options to renew the pact annually for up to five years.

A committee selected AMR in August, with hopes to launch the service before the end of the year.

While ongoing supply chain issues involving some key equipment slowed those plans, Sarah Komes, who will lead AMR's Edmond operations, told council members she experienced no problems in filling the 24 full-time and other part-time positions to meet the company's needs.

"We even have a waiting list for applicants, and that is a first-time experience for me in emergency medical services," Komes said.

Chief Goodwin told council members AMR will operate a minimum of two ambulances 24 hours daily out of the surplus fire station it took over near 15th and Broadway, and could provide as many as five operating ambulances at one time during peak demand periods, plus provide services to special events inside the community.

Edmond residents who currently are enrolled in EMSA's care plan through the city's utility bills will transfer forward to AMR's membership program automatically, without a change in costs.

An ambulance wrapped with logos for AMR and the city of Edmond was displayed outside the council chambers before the meeting.

"It is starting out as a wonderful partnership ... we hope to continue for many years," Goodwin said.

Mental health services in Edmond to 'Flourish' as partnerships are developed

Edmond council members also were given an update this past week on mental health services being deployed throughout the community.

Elected city leaders kicked off a mental health system assessment in 2021 when it hired the Healthy Minds Policy Initiative to evaluate what services were being offered.

The consultant reported its findings to council members last year and recommended the city initiate nearly two dozen corrective steps to address perceived needs.

The city council was told this month about the progress Edmond has made with various community partners to implement those plans over the past year, and $175,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds were authorized to continue developing those services during 2024.

In 2023, Edmond successfully integrated its 911 system so that its operators can directly transfer callers with non-life threatening mental health needs directly to the state's 988 system, said Christy Batterson, Edmond's housing and community development manager.

NorthCare, a nonprofit mental health services provider, has opened a critical care behavioral health center inside of Edmond, while fundraising and the construction of an urgent recovery clinic and crisis center for youth, families and adults is underway and expected to open soon, Batterson said.

Edmond also is raising funds for a project it is calling Edmond Club House, which it hopes will be a place where people living with mental illness will have chances to make friends and find jobs, housing and wellness services.

Plus, it is working on developing a plan with area school systems to extend expanded mental health care services into those programs, she said.

"Access to behavioral health services has multiple barriers for those residents that live in Edmond, most of all transportation costs and a lack of providers," Batterson said, who said a steering committee and four other teams are working to address those issues.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Edmond to build new northwest fire station as ambulance change approaches