Viola releases rough drawings of new Southside firehouse

Cost estimate ranges from $5-7 million, dependent in part on how much can be raised through grants

By TOM STAUSS Publisher

General Manager John Viola in a report at the June 18 monthly Board of Directors meeting touched briefly on the incremental progress that could lead to a formal proposal to the Board of Directors about a new or mostly new Southside firehouse, perhaps as soon as July or maybe the annual meeting of the association in August.

He said a working group chaired by former Ocean Pines Association Director Ted Moroney is working on plans for the new or substantially new firehouse in close consultation with the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department.

The proposal would include details on how much the OPA might need to assess OPA members for a portion of the cost of the project. That number has been elusive to date. Viola said the size and scope of the building will depend in part on the extent to which the OPA and OPVFD will be able to raise grant funds to help defray the cost.