Walmart helps new EMS quarters feel like home
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — Weather dependent — of course — but the town hopes to have its new EMS building ready by the end of April, beginning of May.
Town Administrator Elaine Sistare said the ramp design was chosen last week and she anticipates that it will take a couple weeks to come in for installation. It’s basically a “T” design that will allow handicapped access and will also provide a connection between the old building and the new one on Church Street. The ramp is being built by Redispan of Deer Park, Long Island.
The electricity has been hooked up. There’s no water yet but heat tape and a skirt around the manufactured building should be installed this week. Following that, will be additional carpentry work and furniture from WB Mason.
While they’re waiting, the EMS staff isn’t twiddling their fingers.
Tammy Szpyrka, chief of service for EMS, said Mayor Barney Seney asked her to put together “a list of things that we would need for the new building that I didn’t necessarily have in the old building — aside from the bigger stuff like the furniture.” She said she went through each room and just started writing down things. Then Seney called Walmart and asked them if they’d be willing to help. Lisa Church, People Lead at Walmart, and Samantha Hart, the store manager, said “absolutely.” Szpyrka said Seney was sitting in her office having this conversation with Walmart and then heard “yes tomorrow at 11.” Just like that.
So Feb. 26 Szpyrka and Seney and the list joined Hart and Church at Walmart. And three carts went off into the store. The budget was $500 from Walmart and Seney kicked in $100 of his own money for a total budget of $600.
The two bedrooms, two baths, an office, the kitchen and the common area were all stocked within an hour. The carts were filled with bathroom and kitchen towels, mats, strainer, drying rack, ice trays, bowls, glasses, flatware, dishes, pots and pans, a toaster oven, a coffeepot, utensils, pillows, mattresses covers, pot holders, trash cans, shower curtains and more. Instead of adding a microwave to the cart, Seney told Szpyrka he had an extra one at home. With all that, there was still some money left, so the group headed over to the supplies aisles and got laundry and dish detergent, spot remover, brushes, sponges, Brillos and more.
The color palette is grays with some pops of color.
The 1,200 square foot combined building has three bedrooms, a kitchen area and a shower area. It measures 27 feet wide and 44 feet long. One of the bedrooms would be an office.
Church said “They (EMS) have done so much for us.”
“Let’s build our relationship and we have because EMS, every time we ask them to be here, they’re here for us.”
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captions, page 4:
Picking out dishes with Lisa Church, Walmart People Lead
The three carts were loaded.
EMS Chief of Service Tammy Szpyrka loads the conveyor belt.
From left: Tammy Szpyrka, Samantha Hart and Mayor Barney Seney. Expanded photo array Wed. night on our FB page. Linda Lemmon photos.