Fire Station Bids Come In Nearly 1 Million Over Budget

An example of the now limited space within the Oskaloosa Fire Station. This view of the far east bay shows how much room is available between the front of the fire truck and the bay door.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – There are some tough decisions being made by the Oskaloosa City Council and city administrators.

The problem became apparent when the bids for the new firestation and renovations to the current firestation started to roll in, and they were nearly 33% over budget, leaving a nearly 1 million dollar shortfall.

At a study session before the last city council meeting, the city council heard from the architect what measures can be done in order to help the project continue, and come within the allotted funds approved by the voters last November.

During a worksession before the last council meeting, Oskaloosa City Manager Michael Schrock said that he believes with the adjustments outlined by architectural firm Rohrbach Associates, the project would still be able to meet it’s goals set out in original planning sessions, even with bids coming in much higher than expected.

Some of those changes include not adding the elevator equipment, but still having the shaft for the elevator built. The other is to not remodel the third floor room where the band currently practices into a community room.

The fire chief’s office will be located in the new addition, and without the remodel of the 3rd floor, the elevator is a costly expense that is being seen as not necessary at this point. All public areas of the building will still be in ADA (American’s with Disabilities Act) compliance.

Another change being proposed is going from four bays to three bays for the project. Along with that change to the project, is the possible change to the roof-line. The conversation during the initial phase of the project was if the public preferred the hip roof or slope roof.

Council member Jason Van Zetten believes that proposing changes without going back to the voters that approved the bond measure, “turns it into a bait and switch”.

Van Zetten said that he was a supporter of the sloped roof during the conceptual stage, but says that the hip roof was a big deal to many of the voters.

Council member Aaron VerSteeg agreed with Van Zetten by saying that the choice in roof design was important to many of the voters during the discussion of the fire station project.

Council member Tom Walling said he didn’t believe it was bait and switch. “We’re going to show it again before we accept it.”

“I don’t think there will be a big uproar, but I could be wrong. If there is, then we’ll hear it,” said Walling.

Van Zetten said he believes that the project needs to go back to the pubic for their decision.

“Re-voting is going to really slow down the schedule,” said Steven Rohibach, President of Rohrbach & Associates. Rohrbach & Associates is the firm that provided the cost estimate for the project to the City of Oskaloosa.

Rohibach said his concern would be that the delay with taking it back to the public is that the bidding schedule would be the same as last time, a winter project, one that is more costly.

In a conversation this past week, Oskaloosa News asked Oskaloosa City Manger Michael Schrock how the bid could have come in so far off.

Schrock said that the architect and his firm went through a process that is similar to any other project the firm does. Schrock explained that the firm uses real-time data, which is collected from current projects, RSMeans construction data, and the assistance of a contractor, who works with the firm to check the plans before the project goes to bid.

“That process they followed just like they do with any other,” Schrock said of Rohrbach & Associates preliminary cost estimate for the fire station project. “Clearly, no one foresaw that the cost estimates would be that far off. Clearly something happened in that process.”

“It was an error, or just the fact the market is what it is,” said Schrock, who pointed towards other communities that have been dealing with other such projects and bids that are coming in considerably higher than initially estimated. “It’s not something that’s uncommon right now.”

When it comes to Rohrbach & Associates, Schrock said that the firm is working with the city to help provide updated plans and information at no additional cost.

Schrock explained that during staff meetings with the fire department, apparatus placement for an addition of three bays or four bays was discussed. With the usage of the three current bays plus a potential three bay addition, the functionality of the fire department won’t be degraded.

Schrock said that the cuts being looked at will not impact the ability of the fire department “to continue to provide good quality service.”

The council will be looking at the project once again on Monday night during their regular session.