Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh, along with Fire Chief Allan Graves and Delegate Seth Howard, today broke ground on the new Galesville Volunteer Fire Station.
“Over the last three and a half years, Anne Arundel County has undertaken a major effort to address our public safety infrastructure,” said Schuh. “This new volunteer fire station is a bricks and mortar example of our unshakable commitment to public safety.”
The new 11,000 square foot $6.8 million Galesville Volunteer Fire Station will be located at 6920 Owensville Road.
This new fire station is a concrete example of the Schuh administration’s historic investments in public safety investments which also include:
- A major effort to improve public-safety infrastructure, including the development of a new police academy, the new central booking facility, and three additional fire stations (Lake Shore, Jacobsville, Herald Harbor)
- Increasing the number of public-safety personnel by more than 80 to combat gangs and improve response times
- Accelerating the purchases of new police vehicles to bring the average age of our fleet down to 3 years
The County Executive’s FY2019 budget proposal builds on those efforts, calling for the installation of a new water supply tank in South County, as well as EMS substations in Mayo and in Heritage Harbour, to ensure better, more efficient response times. The operating budget proposal includes funding for 38 new public safety professionals, including 10 new firefighters, a down payment on the County Executive’s goal of staffing the department to 970.
The Galesville capital project was made possible through the JumpStart Anne Arundel capital project financing program. Enacted in 2015, the capital plan embraces a 30-year bond financing option. This reform has allowed Anne Arundel County to expand its capital funding program and make critical school, public safety, road, and quality of life infrastructure improvements from Brooklyn Park to Pasadena to Annapolis to Odenton.
