New Cloverdale facility coming for Operation Life

Saturday, July 16, 2011
A new, more modern facility will stand on the site of Operation Life's former Cloverdale station.

CLOVERDALE -- After nearly 40 years of service, the Cloverdale Operation Life station, as many locals have already discovered, has been demolished. However, it is soon to be replaced with a more accommodating facility to benefit the workers and community.

The pole barn building in which the station had taken root was originally a bait shop. The land was permitted to be used by Operation Life until it was formally acquired from James V. and Dorothy Routt in January of 1993. It is estimated that the building was at least 40 years old and had undergone numerous renovations.

For at least a decade, the administration of operation had considered the new facility due to the limitations of the older structure, mainly lack of space.

"This project has been in the works for the past two administrations, but the board and I wanted to make sure that operation Life was financially secure before tackling this project," said Executive Director Kraig Kinney. "The new structure has been carefully planned to be cost effective and survive for organization usage for years to come."

The new structure, as was the old one, will be a pole barn, but will be larger and will include a larger bay to accommodate the larger ambulances in use today. And like the Operation Life main building in Greencastle, the new building will utilize a natural gas generator so it can remain operational during power outages.

"The plans that were used were the base plans for the Bainbridge station with some alterations for improvements as well as a slightly larger living space since we staff the Cloverdale station 24 hours per day and Bainbridge only overnight," said Kinney.

The station will remain at the same location 52 E. Mill St. in Cloverdale, close to where the original building stood.

Local builders Criss and Hutcheson are handling the project, which is expected to take about 90 days. In the meantime, ambulance coverage will not be interfered with, the crews being temporarily stationed at the Cloverdale Township Fire Department station.

Operation Life is a non-profit organization that is contracted with the Putnam County Commissioners to provide county-wide 911 coverage.

"My board and I want to reiterate that tax dollars are not being used for this project, but that it is possible through careful planning and budgeting," added Kinney.

Cloverdale is covered 24 hours a day by Operation Life except when the Cloverdale crew is on a medical run or transferring patients from the Putnam County Hospital to other medical facilities.

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