Central EMS officials to consider buying old Prairie Grove Wal-Mart building

FAYETTEVILLE -- Central EMS officials will consider buying the vacant Wal-Mart Express building in Prairie Grove, Chief Becky Stewart said. The facility may help the ambulance service house everything from billing to maintenance in one location, she said.

"We kind of want to pull all of that under one roof to a facility that would be able to take us into the next 10 or 20 years," Stewart said.

Ambulance service

Central EMS decided Wednesday not to move forward on plans to take over dispatch service for the Springdale Fire Department. Board members said they wanted to concentrate on improving Central EMS services first.

Source: Staff report

The ambulance service's executive committee will meet at 5 p.m. Oct. 19 to tour the facility at 881 W Buchanan St.

Wal-Mart closed the store earlier this year and Springdale-based Harps Food Stores bought the property in June.

Kim Eskew, Harps president and chief operating officer, didn't return a message left at his office Friday afternoon. A message for Mayor Sonny Hudson, who is putting together the tour, also wasn't returned Friday.

The building hasn't been officially listed for sale, said Steve Harrison, assistant chief. Central EMS has made no official move to buy the property, Harrison and Stewart said.

"This is very much in just the investigation stage," Stewart said. "There are no long-term plans to go along with this."

Harps is asking about $950,000 for the property, Stewart said. The cost may be too high for the ambulance service to afford, and the location isn't as centrally located as Stewart said she wants, but the space may meet the service's needs, Stewart said.

The 14,728-square-foot building sits on three acres, Stewart said. The property size is listed in records as 1.5 acres worth about $1.3 million.

Stewart said Central EMS wants to check out all opportunities. The ambulance service doesn't have one place to house all its operations, she said.

Operations, administration and dispatch are housed with one ambulance and a maintenance crew in Station One on South School Avenue in Fayetteville. The space is crowded, Harrison said. Nearby, Central EMS has a training facility where supplies also are stored, Stewart said. The ambulance service also leases property in Farmington for $32,000 a month to store spare ambulances, she said. The lease comes up for renewal in February, Stewart said.

Central EMS is making do, but the ambulance service has outgrown the facilities it has, Stewart said. Housing services under one roof would increase efficiency, she said.

The ambulance service would keep all 10 of its ambulance stations, which are spread across the county, Stewart said.

NW News on 09/24/2016

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