Memorandum 17-048 Fire Station Renovation/Expansion

Memorandum 17-048

TO:                        Katie Koester, City Manager

FROM:                 Robert Painter, Fire Chief

DATE:                   March 2, 2017

SUBJECT:          Fire Station Renovation/Expansion

In light of the most recent estimates regarding the renovation and expansion of Homer Station 1, it has become apparent that council will need to make a decision as to the progress of the project as initially presented.

I was originally tasked with making suggestions regarding fire station upgrades and improvements that could potentially extend the functional life of the existing station by another 10 years. With the current economic climate, with both local and state budgets in mind, I believe that initial assumption of a 10 year productive life could realistically be at least 15-20 years, perhaps longer. My original assumption with recommending the second floor expansion was made with the knowledge that the original building was designed with a full second-story in mind for a future expansion project. While that may have been possible in 1980’s building code, new code requires substantial reinforcements to be made to strengthen the existing first story in order to accommodate the second floor expansion.

The justification of the second floor expansion is two-fold:

To add additional space to re-institute a “live-in” volunteer FF/EMT program, where up to 4 volunteers could live in the facility rent free in turn for their timely and expedited response to emergency calls while they were in-station. Along with the paid Emergency Service Specialist (ESS) on duty, these additional volunteer personnel could institute an immediate response to fires and medical calls. Currently only the ESS is in station after hours and on weekends, requiring addition personnel to respond directly to the scene or to the station, delaying response.
The other need for the expansion is to create a reasonable space in which members (both paid and volunteers) could exercise. There are several direct benefits of offering this space to members: exercise equates to healthier members, which can directly impact risk of serious injury or harm from emergency response (nationwide, most firefighters that die in the line of duty, die from cardiovascular issues, mostly heart attacks). Secondly, many members now use existing health clubs in which the department shares in funding through the Volunteer Incentive Program. The volunteer pays 1/3 of the total cost, the city pays 1/3 of the total cost and the HVFD Membership Association pays 1/3 of the total cost. By having an equipped area with which to exercise in, the cost to all three entities could be eliminated.

With the projects outlined previously to renovate and upgrade the station, the City Council generously allocated $ 1 million, along with some additional planning/design money and money to assist with helping make the station more energy efficient and less costly to heat in the winter time (the existing station is totally electric). Unfortunately these funds are not quite enough to complete all of the projects necessary to meet the initial goals put forth. Therefore it is necessary to reconsider the project scope and necessity. I believe there are three options available to consider:

Option 1: Council approves the additional expenditure of approximately $200,000 to complete the project as presented and designed. This would include the second floor expansion and other projects previously listed.

Option 2: Use the existing plans to expand the second story and go out to competitive bid with a budget of $600,000. By going out for a competitive bid process, local contractors may be encouraged to review the plans, and make reasonable accommodation to stay within budget. The other projects on the list would continue as previously outlined.

Option 3: Eliminate the second-story expansion and solely focus on bringing the existing station up to 100% of capacity, i.e. completely remodel both bathrooms (something not listed in the initial projects), remodel and upgrade the kitchen, replace existing furnishings, training audio-visual equipment (projectors, screens, sound system with state-of-the art electronics, repaint/re-finish both the exterior and interior of the building, install the diesel exhaust system, replace all flooring (carpeting and vinyl that is original to the building), constructing covered storage for equipment in the rear parking lot, repair/replace the existing exterior exit stairway, address drainage in the rear parking lot and finish paving the rear parking lot. This is essentially the original list I provided but including the remodel of the bathrooms and replacing the training room AV equipment.