Proposed EMS location sparks conversation

The wooden sign appeared out of nowhere.

 

Dug into the ground outside the Daniel Island Library two weeks ago, the top of the 10-foot billboard read “Berkeley County EMS Station.” 

 

Under those words, four pictures.

 

Three showing an artist’s rendering of an ambulance parked in the driveway of a two-car garage. The fourth?

 

A map marking the spot where the new station would be built: at the corner of Barfield and Pierce streets. A residential neighborhood near the elementary school.

 

It didn’t take long for the sign to get noticed, and for Jarrod Brooks’ cell phone to start taking a beating.

 

“I was not anticipating a life-saving EMS station would be as controversial as it is,” the first-year Berkeley County councilman, who represents Daniel Island, said. “I think there is a lot of concern about ‘not in my backyard.’”

 

The map showed the proposed EMS station, budgeted at $1 million, would be located at the end of the recently expanded library parking lot, nudging against a thin, pedestrian walking trail that separates private homes from the parcel Berkeley County owns.

 

Nearby homeowners and school parents, about 25 altogether, reached for answers, if not, an explanation: Why there?

 

Brooks said the raising of eyebrows is justified. 

 

“Is there going to be noise pollution, light pollution? Is it the wisest thing to locate an emergency vehicle by a school? How will this affect my property values? I think those are all legitimate concerns.” 

 

Brooks set up a meeting with residents that evening, inviting Berkeley County EMS Chief Michael Shirey and an ambulance to the location, not only to hear concerns, but to demonstrate what the siren lights would look like at night.

 

The Berkeley County EMS station is currently housed within a facility off Seven Farms Drive owned by the City of Charleston - and not the county.

 

The building is home to the city’s Fire Station 18 and the police department’s Patrol Team 5.

 

Brooks said the city recently approached the county. 

 

“The city needs the space back,” he explained. “We found this out over the last couple of months or so. So, Berkeley County has been looking for space to relocate. We’ve looked all over the island; sites with excess space at Governors Park, anything that’s on the market that’s for sale that might be a suitable size and price.”

 

With limited land available on Daniel Island to purchase, or priced at a hefty premium, the county turned to property it already owned: the parcel located by the library and next to the school.

 

The school enrolls more than 1,100 students - many of whom ride their bicycles or walk through neighborhood streets to get to class.

 

“Residents have concerns about fast-moving vehicles exiting during pickup and drop off (at school),” Brooks said, adding that one plan to alleviate the worry would relocate the two EMS vehicles away from Daniel Island School during the morning and afternoon drop-off hours, and park in a public area while awaiting dispatch calls.

 

He also said sirens would not be activated until an EMS vehicle reached the roundabout at Daniel Island Drive and Seven Farms Drive, about a half-mile away.

 

“We’ve got a rendering, and that’s all it is right now. It’s just a starting point to begin a conversation. There have been no construction drawings submitted,” Brooks said.

 

While the county and the public exchange ideas, the current EMS dispatch and vehicles will move to a nearby apartment complex until a decision is reached.

 

If an island location is not available, Clements Ferry locations will be considered.