Finally, a home for MVAC?

The Malverne Department of Public Works will soon see some work of a different kind — a major makeover of its Hempstead Avenue facility.

As part of a plan to provide a headquarters for the Malverne Volunteer Ambulance Corps, the DPW facility will be expanded, modified and renovated over the next year. Deputy Mayor James Callahan III, who presented the proposal at the Aug. 4 Board of Trustees meeting, said the board unanimously approved the concept after exploring three other options.

Corps members are still “digesting” it, according to John Hassett Sr., chairman of its Board of Directors. They heard about the plan for the first time when Callahan presented it last week. “Of course, the proposed site is far better than being homeless,” Hassett said. “It is probably the best of what we had been offered to date.”

The corps has been searching for a headquarters in the village for some 35 years. Despite receiving a number of grants, including a recent $60,000 appropriation made by County Legislator Francis Becker, and raising about $100,000 in donations, the corps has been unable to find an affordable piece of property to purchase. It is a nonprofit organization contracted by the village for $59,500 per year to provide primary 24-hour ambulance service.

According to the village’s plan, the corps would turn the $100,000 it has collected over to the village to cover part of the $600,000 cost of renovating the DPW facility, and pay an undetermined amount in rent to lease space there when the project is completed. According to Callahan, the proposal is the most affordable and convenient of the options the village considered because it would “kill two birds with one stone,” renovating the DPW facility and creating a headquarters for the corps. And because the village already owns the property, the project would not affect the village’s tax rolls. Callahan also noted that the facility is situated on Hempstead Avenue, allowing ambulances easy access to a main street.

The driving force behind the proposal, according to Callahan, is the corps’ need for more volunteers, particularly from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. While the corps’ three-year average “in-service” time -- when it is fully staffed and ready to go -- is 80 to 100 percent on nights and weekends, it is only about 50 percent during weekday working hours. With a headquarters, the corps would likely attract more volunteers, particularly those who live outside the village.

“The ambulance corps is a very important part of Malverne,” Callahan recently told the Herald. “Without it our residents would have to rely on county [ambulance] service, which, although it is good, does not provide the sort of quick response that MVAC does. We hope that this building will help recruit new members and brings [us] as close to 100 percent in service time as is possible.”

By its own admission, the corps, while quicker to respond to emergencies than the county ambulances, is not as speedy as it could be. The corps’ homelessness creates a number of challenges for on-duty volunteers, who have to complete a number of tasks before they can jump in the driver’s seat. They must unplug the ambulance, which they park outside their homes, from their electrical circuits, remember to take equipment like medication bags out of their refrigerators and, when it snows, clean off ambulance doors and windows.

Although Callahan is eager to see the project move forward, he said there are a number of steps that must still be completed before anything is finalized. The village must examine possible financing scenarios, including bonds and bank anticipation notes; it must determine the rent the corps will pay; and it must find a designer and a contractor. The corps’ contract with the village will also have to be amended, and revenue options will have to be reviewed.

With much work ahead, Hassett remains cautious in his approach to the proposal. “We’ll have to see if actions follow the words,” he told the Herald. “... We have seen no plans yet, [the village trustees] have not asked us what we need in the facility or the layout. Hopefully, they will share this with us as soon as they have it.”

While the plan will not go out to a vote by Malverne taxpayers, Callahan encouraged residents to offer their input. For more information about the Malverne Volunteer Ambulance Corps’ struggle to find a home, visit liherald.com.

Comments about this story? LLandor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.