EMS: Details Hammered Out for New Stations in Schulenburg & Round Top

Fayette County EMS will replace its station in Schulenburg and add a new station in Round Top.

“We are currently working on several capital improvements to improve station location and station quality in the County,” said EMS Director Josh Vandever at the Fayette County Commissioners Court meeting on Thursday, Jan. 13.

The current station in Schulenburg is located in a former residence near Regency Nursing Home at the corner of College St. and East Ave. Vandever said the facility often floods during heavy rains. Regency owner Delores Greive offered to donate to the County a piece of property she owns on US 77 for a new EMS station. The property is located between Lucy Tequila Mexican Restaurant and the Family Dollar Store, which will provide ambulances with quicker access to Interstate 10.

“We were initially going to spend about $60,000 or $70,000 on land, and the lot of land we were going to spend that (money) on was not very desirable,” Vandever said. “We negotiated a lot with the realtor involved. We looked at another lot, and we were about the spend the money on the land.”

Vandever said Pct. 4 Commissioner Drew Brossmann learned about Delores Greive’s property and began speaking with her and her son Charles Greive about acquiring it.

“It’s a better spot for us,” Vandever said. “We’ll have much quicker response times. In negotiations, the landowner decided they would just donate it to the County.”

“Mr. Grieve did ask for a couple of things,” said assistant county attorney Blake Watson. “One, it has a revision clause so that if the County does not at some point down the road use it for EMS purposes, it would then revert back to his family. As well, he did ask for a memorial plaque for the people they originally purchased the land from.”

The previous owner, Helen Balcar, lived with her sister Joan Balcar in a house on the property. The sisters were well-known residents of the Schulenburg community. Helen died in 2019 followed by Joan in 2021.

“As far as the memorial goes, I think this is worth stating: (Charles Greive) doesn’t want the memorial for himself or for his family, he wants it for the people they bought the land from,” Vandever said. “He’s been very pleasurable to work with on this project and he’s doing it for the right reasons.”

Brossmann said the City of Schulenburg would provide utilities.

“People may ask, why the heck do we need a new EMS facility in Schulenburg?” said County Judge Joe Weber. “I’d say, how many have seen where the EMS operates out of in Schulenburg? It’s an old house in a neighborhood that occasionally gets flooded. It’s worked OK, but as we grow and expand, we have an opportunity here with this generous gift to be better prepared for the future. I think it’s going to be great for the City and the County.”

Commissioners did not discuss how much construction of the new Schulenburg EMS station would cost at Thursday’s meeting. Last August, Vandever presented an estimate of $350,000 to the Commissioners Court, but that included the cost of land.

Commissioners voted unanimously to accept a gift deed for the property from the Greives.

Commissioners also unanimously signed an agreement with the Town of Round Top and the Round Top Volunteer Fire Department to establish an EMS station at the Round Top Fire Station.

The closest ambulance station to the Round Top, Carmine and Ledbetter areas is located in Fayetteville. A Fayetteville ambulance responding to a wreck on US 290, for example, must travel about 20 miles to get to the scene.

“It takes a little bit for that Fayetteville truck to get there,” Vandever said.

Several months ago, Vandever began negotiations with the Round Top Volunteer Fire Department and the Town of Round Top to establish a new EMS station. Under the agreement approved last Thursday, the County will pay the cost of building an ambulance bay and crew sleeping quarters in the Round Top Fire Station.

Vandever said the latest estimate for the cost of construction came in at about $108,000.

“That’s up about $13,000 from the initial estimate in the summer of last year,” Vandever said.

The County will pay for construction with federal grant funds it received through the American Rescue Plan.

Once complete, the County will pay a $300 monthly use and maintenance fee to the Round Top VFD to cover costs such as utilities and internet access. Commissioners agreed to a 10 year contract to lease the space with options to renew or terminate the agreement.

“This is not just about Round Top,” Weber said. “There’s Carmine out there, there’s Ledbetter. The whole portion of the northern part of the County is going to be served by this.

“Any time we can have our volunteer fire departments and EMS working together, it’s a good thing,” Weber added.