The various offices of the Garrett County (MD) Health Department moved into a brand new facility in November. Located in Oakland, the Garrett County Community Health Center is conveniently located near the hospital and government offices, and is readily accessible to the highest density population in the southern end of the county. Most importantly, it allows for all Health Department services to be provided out of the same building rather than six separate locations as before. Besides eliminating confusion, Health Officer Rodney Glotfelty noted that having “one central location will result in tremendous budgetary and operational efficiencies to the department.”
Designed by architect Philip Silkey, LLC, A.I.A., of McHenry, the two-story, split level building features 42,887 sq. ft. (3,984 sq m) of space and is located on a 14.8-acre (5.9 ha) parcel of land. The wood-framed building is covered with native stone and cement fiber siding. Features include a large conference room to accommodate up to 140 people and office suites for programs such as Home Health, Environmental Health, Personal Health, Mental Health, Addictions Services, Administration, Adult Evaluation & Review Services, Community Outreach & Education, WIC, Healthy Families and a new dental program.
The building contract was awarded to Edward D. Wilburn General Contractor Inc. for a low bid of $4 million. Funding sources included a Mental Health & Addictions Community Bond from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in the amount of $895,000, a Department of Housing & Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $400,000, a USDA Rural Development Loan in the amount of $3 million, and local commitment from the Garrett County Commissioners in the amount of $562,500.
The commissioners stated that they were pleased to award the bid to Wilburn, who has overseen construction of several large projects in the county, such as the Maryland State Police Barrack, The Discovery Center at Deep Creek Lake State Park, Pizzeria UNO and the Garrett 8 Cinema. Notice to proceed with the project was given on Sept. 21, 2000, and the completion date of Oct. 1, 2001 was met.
Rodney Frazee, who worked on the project for Wilburn, reported that the project came together “pretty much like any other construction job.” However, there was a slight problem at the beginning. The crew was in the process of adding the roof trusses when an overnight wind storm took them down. “But we still came in on deadline,” Frazee noted.
Wilburn’s equipment list for the project included a John Deere 455G track loader, a 310D backhoe loader and a John Deere skid steer loader.
The bulk of the earthmoving was completed by subcontractor Frank Arnold Contractors Inc., Oakland. A total of 40,000 cu. yds. (30,582 cu m) of dirt was moved. Major equipment used on the job, all owned by the company and all made by Caterpillar, included several 631 scrapers, a D9H bulldozer, a D5H bulldozer and a variety of excavators for the storm water piping and utilities. Adam Wolfe of Frank Arnold Contractors noted that its major challenge was coordinating everything that needed to be done in time. “We pushed extra hard to get the foundation in before last winter so we could meet the completion date this fall.”
Other subcontractors, all from Garrett County, included Doerr Construction for mechanical, electrical, plumbing and heating; Beitzel Corporation for the sprinkler system; RPM Construction for the acoustical ceiling and paint; Success Floor for carpeting and linoleum; Wilson Tile for the ceramic tile; and G & H Masonry for block work, concrete and stone work.
Brenda Ruggiero
Brenda Ruggiero has written for CEG for over 20 years. She lives near the town of Accident in far western Maryland. Her favorite assignments so far involved interviews with Survivor’s Boston Rob and hot dog eating champion Joey Chestnut. Both were involved in construction at one time.
Brenda holds a BA in Mass Communication with a writing focus from Frostburg State University and minors in Public Relations and Political Science. She works full time as a staff writer for a weekly newspaper, the Garrett County Republican. She enjoys feature writing the most, which gives her the opportunity to talk to people and share their stories.
Brenda and her middle school sweetheart, Reuben, have been married for over 34 years and have three grown children and four cats.
Read more from Brenda Ruggiero here.
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