Fire and paramedic districts moving to new offices today

On Wednesday morning, Deputy Chief Steve Eisele was in the main hall of the Minden Inn folding boxes in preparation for the East Fork Fire & Paramedic Districts move to its new offices.

Across Minden, in what was once the Department of Motor Vehicles on County Road, workers were putting the final touches on the building.

"Monday morning we'll be open for business and ready to go," Eisele said.

Work began earlier this year on the building that was purchased in December 2007.

"People asked us why we didn't just tear the whole thing down and start over," Eisele said. "But there was a lot of value in the building shell and the roof. We didn't want to lose that value."

Those who spent long amounts of time inside the old DMV building wouldn't recognize the inside of the building now.

The main counter was designed and built by Chief Tod Carlini, Eisele and other district staff members.

"We did the work in an effort to save money and to have things just the way we wanted them," Eisele said.

There is a long low counter along the front where districts' customers can come to get open burn permits or lay out their plans for review. A section of the counter is set apart by a wall where people can discuss their ambulance bills in private.

Eisele estimated the districts' current offices, located on the first floor of the Minden Inn, occupy about 1,600 square feet.

One staff member literally had an office in a closet, whose desk had to be cut down to fit the space.

The new building has 6,000 square feet, or nearly four times the space.

"This is a big transition for us," he said.

Work on the building added 2,000 square feet, increasing its size by half and turning what was once an "L" into a more rectangular structure.

The building was wired with data connections that connect it to the main county computers in the Douglas County Administrative Building by fiber optic cable. The connection will benefit both the Douglas County Public Library, which backs onto the new district offices and Station 14 across County Road.

The new addition accommodates an emergency operations center which can provide space for coordinating efforts in case of a disaster.

The space includes a retractable screen and a ceiling mount for a projector that can be networked to any computer in the room.

"When someone walks in with a disk, we can load it into a computer and bring it up on the screen," Eisele said.

Plans include a generator to provide power to the center.

The center will help the districts with its new emergency management role.

"When we have to fulfill that role, now we can do it by opening a door," he said.

When the center isn't serving as the command center for county emergencies, it will be available as a public room, with access from outside the building.

Eisele estimated the cost of construction was about $750,000 total, which he felt was a good price.

"Some people have asked why we did it when the economy was so bad," he said. "If we'd waited a few years it could have cost us another $250,000. This was a really good time to bring this project forward."

Eisele has served with the district for 14 years, and has had a hand in building several new fire stations during his career.

"But this is different because it is building a home for the hub," he said.

The new office is located at 1694 County Road. The number will remain 782-9040.

Moving day for other county offices will follow East Fork's. The Douglas County Clerk's Office is moving back into the county administrative building. It will be located next to the treasurer's office at 1616 Eighth St. starting Oct. 26.