ALVA, Fla. — Lee County commissioners could buy a plot of land in Alva for a future EMS facility.
Fox 4’s Alva Community Correspondent, Austin Schargorodski covers the area daily and has built connections with neighbors, including a retired EMS worker who calls the plan bittersweet, saying it’s tied to the growth heading this way.
Watch to see what the retired EMS worker told Austin about the possible new facility:
The county’s looking to spend $330,000 to buy a 0.71-acre lot on River Hall Parkway, right off State Road 80. They say they plan to, one day, build an EMS station there to better serve the Alva area.
But retired EMS worker Denise Eberle says there’s another place she thinks makes more sense: State Road 31.
“Which is actually where it would be needed because of all the development that's occurring on 31 between Babcock Ranch and Neal Communities,” Eberle said.
Schargorodski has previously reported on a recently approved 1,100-home development by Neal Communities off SR-31. At the time, people who live in Alva said packing that many homes into a rural area would put too much strain on local services like EMS.
“We are aware that there is not sufficient fire and EMS services to service the entire footprint so public safety is a concern,” said Grant Fichter, President of Alva Inc.
So, Eberle says it’s good to see the county prioritizing EMS service here. But she calls it bittersweet, believing it’s meant to sustain growth many in Alva have been pushing back against, including a new high school and eventual middle school proposed off Tuckahoe and Joel Road.
“Following that would come development,” Eberle said.
Lee County says Alva is part of their capital improvement plan. They say the fire truck at the Fort Myers Shores station already has a paramedic on board, so only EMT staff would be needed to run an ambulance full-time, and that staff is already trained and ready.
Now, Lee County commissioners will discuss the lot purchase at their meeting next Tuesday.
