The Woodstock Fire District is planning a building for its paid emergency medical staff and administrative offices behind the Company 1 firehouse at 242 Tinker St.
An early estimate put the cost at $12 million to $17 million, according to the district’s Sept. 10 meeting minutes. That figure isn’t based on a formal quote, which commissioners expect to receive in mid-November, Commissioner Evan Holland said.
Commissioners hope to secure funding in 2027 and break ground in 2028, Board Chair Jeff DeLisio said. The project’s final scope will depend on county funding as Ulster County changes how it pays for advanced life support services, he said.
The district expects to borrow money through a bond to help finance construction, DeLisio said.
Discussions began two years ago with plans to upgrade the Company 5 Rescue Squad building at 226 Tinker St., DeLisio said. The building houses the district’s paid emergency medical services staff and equipment.
Architects hired to assess the work needed to meet state and National Fire Protection Association standards recommended demolishing and replacing the building.
“They came back and said it’s just not fit for purpose,” he said.
The board shifted to planning a centralized facility to support paid EMS workers and volunteer firefighters. Commissioners have worked with architecture firm Wendel on preliminary plans and sketches.
The plans include bunk rooms for medical staff, kitchens, washrooms, a wellness center and gym, and offices for district administrators and commissioners, Holland said.
“You live there for 24-hour shifts, you know? You have to have a place to live,” he said.
The board’s Jan. 8 staffing approvals listed 19 paid EMS workers: two coordinators, 10 paramedics, and seven emergency medical technicians. The paramedic and technician positions included full-time, part-time, and per diem work.
The district also responds to calls in neighboring districts through mutual aid.
“We’ve been averaging around 20 mutual aid EMS calls per month, where we’re taking a paramedic or a full ambulance and having to cover a call in a neighboring district, because EMS is in crisis right now,” EMS Coordinator Patrick Hayes said.
The coordinator’s Oct. 8 report listed 928 calls so far this year.
Woodstock is one of three “anchor agencies” the county pays to provide supplemental advanced life support outside their usual coverage areas, DeLisio said. The others are the City of Kingston Fire Department and the New Paltz Rescue Squad.
The district received $530,690 this year to offset the cost of providing that coverage outside Woodstock, county Emergency Services Commissioner Everett Erichsen said.
It separately received $112,316 to support services within the fire district. Erichsen said it’s likely to receive a similar amount for those services next year.
The outside coverage arrangement is set to change Jan. 1, 2027, as the county moves away from the anchor agency model under its Investing in Advanced Life Support plan. The plan calls for dedicated units under county contracts to provide additional coverage.
“We will have dedicated ambulances rather than pulling from an anchor agency out of their firehouse to respond to a call,” Erichsen said.
Woodstock isn’t guaranteed to receive the same payments for outside coverage next year, he said. Funding will depend on its participation in the new system, which hasn’t been determined.
“The linchpin in this is what happens with the county. We may have to course-correct a little bit because of that,” DeLisio said.
Commissioners plan to present the building project at a public meeting in the first week of December, after receiving the architects’ quote, Holland said.
Isabella Schoonover is a staff reporter for The Overlook covering Woodstock, Saugerties, Hurley, and surrounding Ulster County communities. Send correspondence to isabella@theoverlooknews.com.
