MEXICO- Members of the Med-Care Ambulance board and abutting landowners on Highland Terrace met last week with the engineer of the project, Steve Blake, to discuss how the proposed $1.8 million project will affect their homes across the street.

“If I had known years ago that you guys were going to be moving in here,” stated Andy Dupuis. “I would have never built that house. I’m not fond of you guys moving here. I’m concerned with our taxes and the value of my house.”

The current Med-Care building is not up to code and the ambulance service has outgrown their quarters. They have spent the last two years researching their options to build a better, more functional facility and the most important question has been where to build it.

“If we don’t go ahead with this project,” noted board member, Jim Pulsifer. “We don’t know what we’re going to do. Where do we draw the line within the towns we serve? Mexico is very well situated for this project. Centrally located inside all our coverage area.”

Viola Worcester of 289 Highland Terrace, across the street from the proposed land for sale by the credit union, noted, “I know I don’t want it facing me, that’s for sure. I have a nice, quiet neighborhood and I want to keep it that way.”

Abutters are concerned for the noise levels and the traffic.

Executive Director of Med-Care Ambulance, Dean Milligan, noted, “By law we have to have our sirens on when we are entering traffic. We are governed by policy. If there is no traffic we will not run the sirens on Highland Terrace. We understand the abutting landowners’ concerns and we’re doing our best to address them.”

The current ambulance building has housed the service for the past 20 years, it is in violation of state fire code and would take approximately $250,000 to bring up to compliance, and it’s not large enough for the staff they employ. Med-Care Ambulance currently services 550 square miles throughout Oxford County.