Rescue Squad Update

If the Jersey Animal Coalition is now defunct and that empty building belongs to the town (which I think it does), would it make sense to re-purpose that for the Volunteer Rescue Squad and save the space downtown for parking/other needs?

I suggested that to squad leadership but was told the development plans were too far along to switch directions

scottgreenstone said:

I suggested that to squad leadership but was told the development plans were too far along to switch directions

Which is ridiculous.

Agreed

Would have made sense rather than having that valuable downtown space used up by a mobile squad (yes, it's central, though how far really is the JAC spot?), but whatever. I do recall some neighbor objections regarding noise and 24hr use however.

Anyhoo, where's the extra $150k on top of the $100 coming from?

The neighbors rejected clearing a new space right on the corner

This is not new clearing, it's reuse of the vacated building set back from the street. Seems like a good reuse.

Dan - sounds like train has left the station on design. That said, I think a few tweaks (not switching to Seatitle style, as attractive as that is), could go a long way.

I think the expression Less Is More applies to this situation.

Suggestions:

- eliminate tower
- eliminate rescue squad logo on bldg - put that on your ground sign

- mimic as best your able the roof line, garage doors and signage of firehouse

I saw this approach on a new ancollar bldg adjacent to a historic, ornate steuucture; it worked pretty well. Keep it simple.

I must say, as a healthcare professional, I find it completely inappropriate that you guys tweet details of a call you are responding to, like for a psychiatric patient the other day or today for an assault. Privacy issues are being broken all over there place when you guys do that.

ctrzaska said:

Would have made sense rather than having that valuable downtown space used up by a mobile squad (yes, it's central, though how far really is the JAC spot?), but whatever. I do recall some neighbor objections regarding noise and 24hr use however.

The residents of Walton Street already deal with truck traffic and noise from the DPW plus car traffic from people going to the DPW (especially on Saturday) plus the reek of composting leaves, not to mention the constant banging of dumpsters from SO Disposal and the smell of mulch and noise of heavy equipment from Anthony's Landscaping. Adding a busy ambulance facility is not fair to that neighborhood.

I am still puzzled by why the village has to be stuck with a poorly designed building. DId the village retain any kind of design approval for the building when it granted the Rescue Squad the land? If not, why not? And how was the architectural firm chosen who designed the place?

And maybe instead of using fund raising to make up for the items not covered by the original amount of money, the fund raising should go for obtaining plans from another firm. It will delay things, but so what? The Rescue Squad is housed somewhere right now, and it would be better than being stuck with something awful looking for the next 100 years.

Some progress. The parking lot has been closed and the signs are down. Trees have been cut and cones and tape are up.

Either something has started or the Halloween events got out of hand.

Yes George... there is some progress. We are just about ready to start building. As you noticed, the trees have been cleared from the lot and it is being prepped for the site work which will come next. We are currently waiting for PSE&G to move one of the poles on the lot, and waiting on the town to officially close which should hopefully happen on Wednesday.

We have hired PEM Construction & Development and after we close on the lot and the pole is moved, we can begin construction immediately. Once those things happen I will provide a more detailed update.

Once again for those who wish to help us raise the money needed to complete this project, you can sponsor engraved bricks and tiles that will become a permanent part of the new building (or just make a tax-deductible donation of any size) by going to either of these websites:

https://crowdera.co/project/south-orange-rescue-squad-new-headquarters-building-project

http://www.polarengraving.com/SORescueSquad

Thanks,

Dan

Photo blog starts today:

SORescue said:

We are just about ready to start building.

Dan - Can you share the final renderings with us here?

Noted some work done. Progress photo below:

New South Orange Rescue Squad Building Won't House Emergency Shelter

http://thealternativepress.com/towns/south-orange-slash-maplewood/articles/new-south-orange-rescue-squad-building-wont-hous

If the "estimated" cost of the building is $1.25 million, where is the $.25 million coming from? And that is only an estimate. We know how estimates are never accurate. I'm thinking it could be even more over the $1 million the town turned over from Rose Corp.

Interesting quote from Torps: "

Torpey’s biggest concerns were that neither building has a source of backup power and that in the event that the Rahway River were to flood, many residents would not be able to reach either location, according to a memo he sent to village trustees."

Just curious - if it floods and people cant get to the Library or the Baird - how the ***** would the be able to get to the new Squad?

As a long time donor to the rescue squad I am having very very hard time understanding how the group could have been so snookered by the BOT and the developer. It is simply outrageous that there was a failure to provide enough funds to cover the complete cost of the rebuild, with one result that the squad is coming hat in hand to the populace. Their first step should be to go back to the developer and demand that they cough up some more money. If the developer refuses, then it should be up to the BOT to cover the shortfall, perhaps by billing Maplewood for rescue squad services or by cutting other spending such as the technowaste or the subsidy to SOPAC.

villagehallperson:

I agree with you 100% I am not a basher of the Village President, however, he should have never been involved with this as he is a member of the Squad and the BOT.

He should have Recused himself and not acted as if he was in control.

I still feel that the BOT needs to get involved, get the developer to pony up cash or let the general budget of the BOT eat the short fall and over runs.

If the Rescue Squad gave the architect a number to work within, why are they seeing a $250,000 overage beyond the $1,000,000. Could no one have designed a facility in budget? Or was only one firm contacted?

They could have easily done it within budget if they used the JAC Building.

Or perhaps without the phony turret and the ridiculous sign.

You guys are embarrassing.

FilmCarp said:

You guys are embarrassing.

+1

jayjayp said:

If the Rescue Squad gave the architect a number to work within, why are they seeing a $250,000 overage beyond the $1,000,000. Could no one have designed a facility in budget? Or was only one firm contacted?

Jj, why would they spend more of there own money unnecessarily? That woudn't make sense. As for giving someone a number to work with, I'm sure they did. Sometimes the cost is the cost. I myself would like to have a huge 8 bedroom 5 bath home with tennis courts and a pool built for 300000$ but in reality no one will do it, no matter how many firms ask!

Then the question should be asked as to why the VIllage (Torpey et al) agreed to $1 million from Rose if a new building couldn't be built for that amount. The Development Attorney seemed to think it could. Obviously there was no due diligence done before agreeing to that amount. We should be seeking some kind of recompense from the Development Attorney. What was he getting paid to do?

Why doesnt the SO Rescue squad sue Dev. Atty? Clearly he conducted malpractice and or was negligent at best. Grossly negligent it would seem based on the video. I would sue but dont have standing.

SOguy said:

Why doesnt the SO Rescue squad sue Dev. Atty? Clearly he conducted malpractice and or was negligent at best. Grossly negligent it would seem based on the video. I would sue but dont have standing.

Was the attorney negligent or just following his client's (i.e. Torpey) instructions? It easy to blame the attorney but often his hands are tied by the political side.