Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe will join City of Avalon and Los Angeles County Fire and Lifeguard officials at the ribbon-cutting dedication of Avalon’s new state-of-the-art lifeguard and paramedic headquarters building. The ceremony will take place on Friday, April 30, 2010 at 12:30 p.m.
The $5.423 million project was constructed on a parcel of land adjacent to City Hall that was donated to the County by the City of Avalon. The building is a two-story, 7,005 square foot lifeguard/paramedic station, which consists of a two-bay apparatus area for housing a paramedic truck, a utility vehicle and watercraft trailers; an office with storage rooms; and a reception area with a public restroom. Additionally, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission through its Civic Art Program commissioned artists Sandow Birk and Elyse Pignolet to create a ceramic tile mural for the fa cade of the new Avalon Lifeguard Paramedic Headquarters.
Los Angeles County lifeguards have faithfully and effectively served Catalina Island for 40 years, said Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman. With the completion of this state-of-the-art facility, their base of operation and commitment to the Avalon community is solidified. We are very appreciative of the collaboration with the City of Avalon and Supervisor Don Knabe to accomplish this important project.
The Avalon Lifeguard facility will also have one unique feature among all of the County’s similar buildings. This will be the first to include dormitory space for workers, which will consist of a living room, kitchen, dining room and bedroom space for up to eight personnel. County lifeguards on Catalina Island are on-call for 24-hour periods, meaning that anyone stationed in Avalon must secure housing in the City’s limited and expensive housing market. With the new building, lifeguards will be able to complete their shifts without having to acquire housing off-site.
I am very excited about this new station, which was a truly collaborative effort between the City and County, said Supervisor Knabe. I know that the lifeguard station will enhance current operations here in Avalon. Currently, the housing we do have for our lifeguards is in short supply so this new station will allow our lifeguards to have the housing that they need to provide critical services to the both the residents and visitors of Avalon.