City Council discussed and voted on the reconstruction of the aging Fire Station 2 and the new construction of Fire Station 6 in Loma Vista at their January 11 meeting.
The first item discussed was finalizing the plans for the new Fire Station 6 in the Loma Vista area.
There were three separate actions on the item. First action, was a vote to award Seals Construction Inc. a contract for the construction of the fire station in the amount of over $5 million.
The second action was for the City Council to authorize the city manager to execute the contract on behalf of the City of Clovis.
The final action was a vote to transfer funds from the Water Fund to the General Government Services Fund in the amount of $5 million to finance the construction of the fire station.
The fire station will be located on the corner of Loma Vista Parkway and Encino Avenue. The original estimated cost of the construction was more than $8 million. Seals Construction Inc. managed to provide the lowest bid at just over $5 million for the job.
The proposed transfer of funds will work as an Interfund loan to be paid with interest in no less than a 10-year period.
Councilmember Bob Whalen asked how much money was in the Water Fund and City Manager Luke Serpa answered there was about $40 to $50 million in the fund.
Serpa also mentioned this Interfund loan will allow the city to repay the loan back swiftly and that it will not impact any Water Fund operations.
The council was also informed that the vote was only for the concept of the loan and that the city will come back at a later date with the actual contract for the council to vote on.
City Council voted unanimously to approve all three actions and move forward with the construction of Fire Station 6.
The next item was the reconstruction of Fire Station 2 near Shaw and Minnewawa and the construction of a metal building at the fire department training site.
Council was asked to vote on two actions, the first action was the transfer of funds from the General Fund to the General Government Services Fund in the amount of $955,300.
The second action was the waiver of the formal bidding process and award architectural, engineering and construction management contract and the authorization of the city manager to execute contracts on behalf of the city.
At the October 5 City Council meeting, Clovis Fire Chief John Binaski presented that Fire Station 2 had suffered structural damage due to age and bad construction. At that meeting, City Council voted to tear down the building and construct a new one that is up to code.
The proposed plan is to build a new metal building in the current fire training facility to temporarily house staff while the current station is demolished and rebuilt.
Estimated cost is $8.3 million and the completion date is set for summer 2023.
In order to save time, the city asked the council to keep the services of Taylor Group and Vanir Construction Management, the team that designed Fire Station 6.
The design and construction management costs for both buildings are estimated at about $1.4 million.
Councilmember Whalen asked for clarification on why there won’t be a bid for the services of design and construction management.
City Engineer Mike Harrison responded that it was easier to use the same company in order to save time.
Councilmember Ashbeck asked why there was not going to be a bid process in order to save time on the project.
City Manager Luke Serpa explained that because it was not a public works contract, it was not required to go through a bid process. He also said that Taylor Group and Vanir Construction Management have a good working relationship with the City of Clovis. They were also the lowest bid when they bid for Fire Station 6.
Serpa mentioned having Taylor Group and Vanir Construction Management already on board will help expedite the reconstruction.
Councilmember Vong Mouanoutoua asked if the entire contract for the construction management group was going to be $1.4 million.
Harrison told Mouanoutoua the $1.4 million was only an estimate but hopes that it would be much lower than that. Serpa also said that it would be two contracts, one with Taylor Group and the other with Vanir Construction Management.
Councilmembers voted unanimously on all actions to continue the work on the reconstruction of Fire Station 2.