The Hampton Bays Volunteer Ambulance is planning to construct an approximately 2,500-square-foot garage behind its headquarters on Ponquogue Avenue in Hampton Bays by the end of the summer.
The garage will be used to store four to five of the company’s 10 vehicles, and other miscellaneous equipment, said Carl Schottenhamel, a member of the ambulance company’s board of directors. He said that it will cost approximately $100,000 to build the facility, which will most likely be in use by the fall.
The ambulance company is currently seeking approval for the project from the Southampton Town Planning Board. Mr. Schottenhamel said that, if approved by the town, the project will most likely be paid for with a low-interest loan. He added that district taxpayers will not get to vote on the project.
There will be no bathrooms or sleeping facilities in the proposed garage, but it will be heated, Mr. Schottenhamel said. He explained that some of the ambulance equipment requires climate control.
The garage will be located behind the ambulance’s current headquarters.
Mr. Schottenhamel said that because call volume for the volunteer ambulance company has steadily increased over the past several years, the amount of equipment that needs to be stored has also increased, making the garage a necessity.