A countywide training facility that has been a dream for many emergency volunteers for over five years, will soon become a reality.

On Tuesday, the Carbon County Commissioners were joined by numerous county emergency services to announce that they will enter into a contract with The Delta Development Group of Mechanicsburg on Thursday to help secure funding for a multimillion, two-building training facility.The new facilities will be located on approximately 10 to 12 acres of land in the emergency complex on the Broad Mountain in Nesquehoning.Currently, the Carbon County Emergency Management Agency, 911 Communications Center, Correctional Facility and dog shelter are housed in this area."The Carbon County Commissioners are pleased to announce a major project we are about to undertake that, we believe, will be of tremendous importance to the fire service, police departments and emergency medical services of all 23 of the county's municipalities, as well as the county's emergency management agency and other departments," said Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard.He said that through the Carbon County Firemen's Association, the commissioners learned of the need for a fire training facility, as well as place for class and other trainings to be held."We realize all of our fire companies are volunteers and that raising money is very difficult for them," Gerhard said."Today's announcement represents a commitment the commissioners are making on behalf of all of our county residents. We believe helping to improve our first responders by making available to them great resources that match their great commitment."The projectCommissioners' Chairman Wayne Nothstein, who was one of the volunteer firefighters spearheading the project since 2008, explained that the new facility will replace the former training tower and drill area in Lehighton, which was condemned and demolished last year.He said that the project will provide fire departments with live fire training sites, a drill tower and other training necessities; as well as give police, county departments and EMS services classroom and training options that normally are completed in other counties.The conceptual design plans call for widening the current road to the Emergency Management Agency/911 Communications Center to allow for additional traffic to the two new sites; constructing an approximate 3.8-acre fire training facility with a training building and drill areas and a two-story multi-use building that would be the new house of the EMA and Emergency Operations Center, as well as classrooms, meeting areas, vehicle and apparatus parking garages; and a storm water management facility that would recycle water that is collected as available water for live fire training.The financesCommissioner William O'Gurek said that the county is hiring The Delta Development Group because the company has a track record in securing public funding through legislation, competitive grants and economic development programs.Commissioners plan to officially enter into an agreement to hire the company during their weekly meeting on Thursday.This is not the first project Delta has worked on with the county. The company previously helped secure approximately $6 million in funding for the Packerton Yards development project and, more recently, the narrowband radio projects, O'Gurek said.The county commissioners and emergency services already met with Delta representatives, who have identified numerous potential state and federal revenue sources for the project.O'Gurek said officials are optimistic that the project, which will cost an estimated $5 to $10 million, will not have a significant cost on the taxpayers."This project is uniquely meritorious because of the widespread impact it will have on the entire county," O'Gurek said.Emergency servicesFollowing the initial comments, representatives from various emergency services spoke out about the proposed project."I am very proud that the commissioners have come together on this project," John McArdle, Nesquehoning Hose Company fire chief and president of both the Carbon County Firemen's Association and the Carbon County Fire Chiefs Association, adding that the loss of the drill field and tower last year was a big hit for fire departments."I think this is going to be a jewel for Carbon County."Mark Nalesnik, coordinator for the Carbon County Emergency Management Agency, said he was thrilled by the news that there would be a dedicated EMA and EOC space that can be secured.He said the current EOC room also doubles as a meeting and training room and the furniture is constantly getting moved to meet everyone's needs."The thought of having a secure EOC at a secure center sounds too good to be true," Nalesnik said."The project will allow us to implement the latest technologies in emergency operation center activities and will help to springboard our county's emergency management operations into the next generation of homeland security in planning, preparedness, response and recovery."This is an exciting time for the emergency services of Carbon County and we're looking forward to the next stages of the project," he added.Jarad Yeastedt of the Lehighton Ambulance, who was representing EMS, thanked the board for taking the initiative."It's very nice that we'll have a public training facility where we can train locally," he said, noting that right now they have to go out of the county to train."With having a facility in the county, we can train with other ambulance squads and we'll be able to have more joint trainings. This facility is a blessing and much needed."Mark Grochocki of state Sen. John Yudichak's office, was also present and said that the senator supports the project and looks forward to working to make this a reality.