OCEAN CITY, Md. - A parking lot on 65th Street will soon have a new addition: a new fire station. The Ocean City Fire Department says this station will replace its current one, which Chief Richard Bowers says they've outgrown.
"We need a lot of equipment to be stored," Bowers told WRDE. "We have run out of places to be able to store that at the 74th street station."
The new project will cost the town $9.8 million in bond money. Some residents like John Barr would have preferred to spend less and fix up the current station.
"Rebuild one the old one," Barr said, "Use the other property for something else."
Others, like Kathy Powell-Frater, disagree and think it only makes sense to build a new station to grow alongside a growing population.
"I think that, if they need it, it should be done," Powell-Frater said. "You know you have more and more people coming down here in the summertime."
Bowers believes this project isn't just good for the fire department, but for tourism. He thinks that it's needed not only for storage and newer facilities, but to send a message that the town takes safety seriously.
"Visitors will appreciate knowing that the city council is making investments into public safety," Bowers said. "They'll appreciate that the men and women of the Ocean City Fire Department have the best equipment, the best training, and the best facilities to provide the best service to any resident or any visitor that comes to Ocean City."
The fire department hopes this project will break ground within a few months and will be completed in the next 18 months.
