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June 08. 2012 9:56PM
Manchester officials hope building two fire stations could be a cost-saver
MANCHESTER — Contractors interested in building the new Hackett Hill fire station will be asked to submit a price for construction of two fire houses, to see if the city can save money by packaging the project with a new station for South Manchester.
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen this week approved seeking bids for the new Station 8 at Hackett Hill. But companies interested in bidding on that work will be asked for proposals to build a new Station 9 at the same time. Mayor Ted Gatsas said putting two fire stations in one contract might reduce the total cost to the city.
“We're trying to do this as economically as possible,” Gatsas told aldermen.
Interest in a south end station is partially driven by studies that said response times to emergency calls have suffered with development along the Litchfield town line. Many homes have been built in that area in the half-century since Station 9 was built on Calef Road.
“Station 9 was built in 1963 and since then we have had significant growth south of the airport,” said Fire Chief James Burkush. The chief estimates that 25 percent of the calls from the station go to the geographic spur extending south of the airport to the Litchfield town line.
While the Fire Department has an idea of the general area in which it wants to build a new station, basically about a mile south of the existing station, it doesn't have land for it yet. Burkush said he has spoken with Manchester Airport officials about off-airport parcels it owns.
“We don't have a site yet, just a proposal; it's just conceptual plans right now,” Burkush said.
A new South Manchester fire station could be built using the plans that were drawn for the Hackett Hill station as part of the failed land-swap deal with developer Richard Danais, Gatsas said. The mayor told aldermen Tuesday night that the designer claims the building footprint planned for Hackett Hill would work elsewhere. The administration projects using the existing plans would save the city about $125,000,
Burkush said those plans were drawn to allow expansion of the facility through construction of an addition.
Aldermen Barbara Shaw said Tuesday that she was not consulted about relocating the fire house that is smack in the middle of her ward. Shaw said her first impression is that moving the station is not a good idea.
“Everything is laid out really nicely and I can't imagine where they would want to move Engine 9 to,” she said.
One study that recommended moving the station to improve response time was done by Matrix Consulting Group, the firm which recommened the city's combined fleet maintenance operation. A second study done by city employees enrolled in a public management certification program reached a similar conclusion.
Burkush said in addition to being too far from parts of the area it serves, Station 9 is outmoded by modern fire service standards
“It's a small, outdated station with very limited capacity in what we can do,” Burkush said. “There are very, very small cramped quarters, no work-out area and no community room.”
The interest in finding a contractor who can give the city a good price on two stations is key to saving money on construction costs while also creating stations that are more efficient to operate than those built for another era.
“Everything is about saving money these days,” Burkush said.
Bill Smith may be reached at wsmith@unionleader.com.
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen this week approved seeking bids for the new Station 8 at Hackett Hill. But companies interested in bidding on that work will be asked for proposals to build a new Station 9 at the same time. Mayor Ted Gatsas said putting two fire stations in one contract might reduce the total cost to the city.
“We're trying to do this as economically as possible,” Gatsas told aldermen.
Interest in a south end station is partially driven by studies that said response times to emergency calls have suffered with development along the Litchfield town line. Many homes have been built in that area in the half-century since Station 9 was built on Calef Road.
“Station 9 was built in 1963 and since then we have had significant growth south of the airport,” said Fire Chief James Burkush. The chief estimates that 25 percent of the calls from the station go to the geographic spur extending south of the airport to the Litchfield town line.
While the Fire Department has an idea of the general area in which it wants to build a new station, basically about a mile south of the existing station, it doesn't have land for it yet. Burkush said he has spoken with Manchester Airport officials about off-airport parcels it owns.
“We don't have a site yet, just a proposal; it's just conceptual plans right now,” Burkush said.
A new South Manchester fire station could be built using the plans that were drawn for the Hackett Hill station as part of the failed land-swap deal with developer Richard Danais, Gatsas said. The mayor told aldermen Tuesday night that the designer claims the building footprint planned for Hackett Hill would work elsewhere. The administration projects using the existing plans would save the city about $125,000,
Burkush said those plans were drawn to allow expansion of the facility through construction of an addition.
Aldermen Barbara Shaw said Tuesday that she was not consulted about relocating the fire house that is smack in the middle of her ward. Shaw said her first impression is that moving the station is not a good idea.
“Everything is laid out really nicely and I can't imagine where they would want to move Engine 9 to,” she said.
One study that recommended moving the station to improve response time was done by Matrix Consulting Group, the firm which recommened the city's combined fleet maintenance operation. A second study done by city employees enrolled in a public management certification program reached a similar conclusion.
Burkush said in addition to being too far from parts of the area it serves, Station 9 is outmoded by modern fire service standards
“It's a small, outdated station with very limited capacity in what we can do,” Burkush said. “There are very, very small cramped quarters, no work-out area and no community room.”
The interest in finding a contractor who can give the city a good price on two stations is key to saving money on construction costs while also creating stations that are more efficient to operate than those built for another era.
“Everything is about saving money these days,” Burkush said.
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Bill Smith may be reached at wsmith@unionleader.com.