The SWWA announced Tuesday that it was the recipient of a $300,000 no interest loan from the USDA. The USDA’s funding was provided in partnership with WCCTA, which also donated $30,000 towards the new shed. Another local company is also matching WCCTA’s donation. The USDA grant is one of only two awarded in Iowa.

“We are so excited,” said Terry Towne, an emergency medical technician and training officer for SWWA. “This is a huge upgrade for us.”

According to Towne, who has been with SWWA for 30 years, the new ambulance shed is a project they’ve been working towards for the past 15 years as the ambulances and supply needs have outgrown the current building while the volume of calls has also increased.

“Our supplies used to be stored in the bay with the ambulances,” said Towne. “But now there’s no room so they’re in our meeting room. We tried to be as forward thinking as possible so there will be two bays in front with a third in the back. We’re not updating to a fancy building, but one that will serve our needs for working or running calls.”

The SWWA hopes to purchase a side-by-side vehicle that would be in the third bay and would be used on the new Gowrie Trail since ambulances cannot drive on the path.

“We’re not there yet,” said Towne of the utility vehicle. “We aren’t looking to buy one right now, but we’re thinking towards the future as we designed the building and we know we’ll need that space for a side-by-side.”

The current ambulance shed was constructed in the 1970s and can no longer adequately house emergency vehicles, which have become larger and wider than past models.

“There’s no room in the shed,” said Towne. “We can’t even update or trade in our ambulances because a newer one won’t fit in the current building. With a new building, we’ll be able to do that.”

The new ambulance shed will be built by A&M Construction, of Harcourt, and will include a 50-foot-by-70-foot building with 16-foot sidewalls, a fully finished interior, spray foam insulation, concrete approaches, and sidewalks. It will also provide space for training, staff sleeping quarters and improved medical services.

The estimated cost for the project is $450,000, but with rising material costs, could exceed that. Towne said the volunteer department has been actively fundraising for a new ambulance shed since 2021, but the funding from the USDA and WCCTA will allow them to break ground in the spring.

“We’re so appreciative of the community and their support during fundraisers,” said Towne. “With the increasing cost of building, there’s just no way we could catch up to that. This funding will get us where we need to be and not have to overtax people with fundraising. It’s a huge boost for us.”

The existing ambulance building will be sold to the city of Gowrie and will serve as a police station.