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WATERVILLE, ME – MaineGeneral’s recent transfer of nearly 15 acres of land to Delta Ambulance at its Seton Campus will allow Delta to expand its facilities to meet operational growth and remain a vital part of the Waterville community.
Rick Albert, director of Engineering and Plant Operations for MaineGeneral Health, said the triangular parcel located across from the Seton Campus abuts Mount Merici School and Colby College and has a city-assessed value of $52,400. The property was transferred to Delta for $1, he said, as is common with transactions of this type.
Albert said the transfer was a very positive move both for MaineGeneral and Delta, which has operated in Waterville since 1972.
“It’s pretty exciting for Delta and we’re glad we can do something to allow them to stay in Waterville and build a state-of-the-art facility to meet their growing needs well into the future.”
Delta Ambulance Executive Director Tim Beals said MaineGeneral has been very accommodating to the ambulance service over the years in creatively providing operating space. The parcel of land, however, will help meet the needs of an operation that has grown from 10 field employees when Beals started in 1984 to one now employing 120.
“It’s a wonderful gift because it allows us to stay in Waterville and plan for Delta’s future,” he said. “When (MaineGeneral Medical Center President & CEO) Chuck Hays offered the land to us, we immediately accepted. We can expand our facilities for employees and finally get all of our trucks under cover. It also saves us a significant investment because instead of having to buy land, we can now invest that money into the facility.”
Beals said while it is too soon to discuss a timetable for construction, he would like to have the building completed and operational within two years if possible.
As part of the purchase and sales agreement, Mount Merici will have input about where the facility will be sited on the parcel and what it will look like, Beals said.
“There’s a lot of preliminary work and permitting that we’ll need to do before we can really move forward,” he said, adding that the project will follow one completed in December 2009 that resulted in a $1.2 million, 8,000-square-foot facility in Augusta.
“Getting the Augusta base built was the first step,” he said. “We learned what works and what doesn’t as we built it and now we can take those lessons and apply them to a Waterville construction process.”Artists
