MONROE - The possibility of a second fire station located on the west side of Monroe is one step closer to reality.
City Clerk Carol Stamm, along with Fire Chief Daryl Rausch and Deputy Fire Chief Lane Heins, opened the bids for Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the fire station project Wednesday. Bids for Phase 1 were opened Jan. 13.
"I'm very pleased with the number of bids we received," Rausch said. "And they all look as though we'll be able to stay within our budget."
The entire project, which includes building the west side station as well as remodeling the present downtown station, was budgeted at $900,000.
Phase 1 brought in eight contract bids ranging from about $377,000 to $618,000. Midwest Builders, Inc. from Fennimore, Wis., had the lowest bid. Phase 1 includes the site preparation, concrete work, the steel building's outer shell and city utilities.
Phase 2 includes the interior finish work, masonry, heating and cooling system, plumbing and wiring. Harmony Construction Management, Inc. from Madison submitted the lowest bid at $258,000. Six other companies submitted bids up to $302,400.
Phase 3 of the project is for installation of the fire alarm and sprinkler system. Five companies submitted bids ranging from $15,890 to about $27,308.
Rausch said he is concerned that the lowest bid for Phase 3 may not be a correct submission.
The project was separated into the three phases to increase the chances for local contractors to bid, according to Rausch.
Two Monroe companies, Brandt Construction and E&N Hughes, submitted bids. Other companies are located in Madison, Verona and Clinton; Dubuque, Iowa; and Rockford, Ill.
All submissions will be reviewed and bid tabulations verified by Fehr-Graham and Associates.
Rausch will wait for the bid verifications before giving his recommendations directly to the Common Council Feb. 2.
Rausch asked representatives from Harmony Construction Management and Midwest Builders to submit their list of subcontractors.
Construction work is planned to begin in April, with a possible completion date of Oct. 15,
However, Rausch said the project might get a late start depending upon how the council handles the bonding.
Bonding for the project was expected to be paired with the city's bonding for 8th, 9th streets project. But the Board of Public Works voted Monday at a special meeting to postpone the widening project.
Bonding and financing the 8th, 9th streets work and fire station was expected to be about $3 million. The city has the option of separating the two projects for bonding purposes. The council has not yet approved financing for either project, nor has it committed to building the fire station.
The station must be approved by the council before the project can move forward.
Rausch got authorization to seek bids for the proposed fire station in a Common Council special meeting Nov. 30, 2009. Council members voted 8-1 in favor of the authorization, with Alderman Thurston Hanson voting against.
Request for bids on all three phases went out in December.
On Dec. 2, 2007, the Public Safety Committee chose a 2.3-acre lot in the Honey Creek Business and Industrial Park, on West 17th Street at the corner of 4th Avenue West, as the proposed site for the new station. The city approved the site in 2008.
The property needed to be designated at that time in order for Rausch to apply for federal grants and loans for construction; however, the city did not receive any grant funding.
The city property was chosen because its size allowed for future expansion for training, and it would minimize the cost to tax payers, according to Rausch.
The property would come off the tax rolls in an area of strong economic growth; however, the city-owned, undeveloped property has not contributed to the tax base. The lot is irregularly shaped, and a large retention pond on the north side limits expansion in that direction.
Building the west-side fire station is expected to cost $800,000. The cost of utilities for the new station will be about $10,000 to $12,000 per year, he said.
If the city levied the amount in taxes, the cost to the owner of a $100,000 house would be about $5 annually during the first five years. The average cost over the lifetime of a 20-year loan would be about $7 a year on a $100,000 house.
Of the extra $100,000, about $30,000 will go to the cost of building plans, site plans, and permits; $43,000 will be used to purchase additional building equipment for the station. About $24,000 will go to remodeling one bay in the current fire station for office space for the police department, while the remaining $3,000 is intended to pay for the bonding process.
City Clerk Carol Stamm, along with Fire Chief Daryl Rausch and Deputy Fire Chief Lane Heins, opened the bids for Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the fire station project Wednesday. Bids for Phase 1 were opened Jan. 13.
"I'm very pleased with the number of bids we received," Rausch said. "And they all look as though we'll be able to stay within our budget."
The entire project, which includes building the west side station as well as remodeling the present downtown station, was budgeted at $900,000.
Phase 1 brought in eight contract bids ranging from about $377,000 to $618,000. Midwest Builders, Inc. from Fennimore, Wis., had the lowest bid. Phase 1 includes the site preparation, concrete work, the steel building's outer shell and city utilities.
Phase 2 includes the interior finish work, masonry, heating and cooling system, plumbing and wiring. Harmony Construction Management, Inc. from Madison submitted the lowest bid at $258,000. Six other companies submitted bids up to $302,400.
Phase 3 of the project is for installation of the fire alarm and sprinkler system. Five companies submitted bids ranging from $15,890 to about $27,308.
Rausch said he is concerned that the lowest bid for Phase 3 may not be a correct submission.
The project was separated into the three phases to increase the chances for local contractors to bid, according to Rausch.
Two Monroe companies, Brandt Construction and E&N Hughes, submitted bids. Other companies are located in Madison, Verona and Clinton; Dubuque, Iowa; and Rockford, Ill.
All submissions will be reviewed and bid tabulations verified by Fehr-Graham and Associates.
Rausch will wait for the bid verifications before giving his recommendations directly to the Common Council Feb. 2.
Rausch asked representatives from Harmony Construction Management and Midwest Builders to submit their list of subcontractors.
Construction work is planned to begin in April, with a possible completion date of Oct. 15,
However, Rausch said the project might get a late start depending upon how the council handles the bonding.
Bonding for the project was expected to be paired with the city's bonding for 8th, 9th streets project. But the Board of Public Works voted Monday at a special meeting to postpone the widening project.
Bonding and financing the 8th, 9th streets work and fire station was expected to be about $3 million. The city has the option of separating the two projects for bonding purposes. The council has not yet approved financing for either project, nor has it committed to building the fire station.
The station must be approved by the council before the project can move forward.
Rausch got authorization to seek bids for the proposed fire station in a Common Council special meeting Nov. 30, 2009. Council members voted 8-1 in favor of the authorization, with Alderman Thurston Hanson voting against.
Request for bids on all three phases went out in December.
On Dec. 2, 2007, the Public Safety Committee chose a 2.3-acre lot in the Honey Creek Business and Industrial Park, on West 17th Street at the corner of 4th Avenue West, as the proposed site for the new station. The city approved the site in 2008.
The property needed to be designated at that time in order for Rausch to apply for federal grants and loans for construction; however, the city did not receive any grant funding.
The city property was chosen because its size allowed for future expansion for training, and it would minimize the cost to tax payers, according to Rausch.
The property would come off the tax rolls in an area of strong economic growth; however, the city-owned, undeveloped property has not contributed to the tax base. The lot is irregularly shaped, and a large retention pond on the north side limits expansion in that direction.
Building the west-side fire station is expected to cost $800,000. The cost of utilities for the new station will be about $10,000 to $12,000 per year, he said.
If the city levied the amount in taxes, the cost to the owner of a $100,000 house would be about $5 annually during the first five years. The average cost over the lifetime of a 20-year loan would be about $7 a year on a $100,000 house.
Of the extra $100,000, about $30,000 will go to the cost of building plans, site plans, and permits; $43,000 will be used to purchase additional building equipment for the station. About $24,000 will go to remodeling one bay in the current fire station for office space for the police department, while the remaining $3,000 is intended to pay for the bonding process.