Sylvania Township trustees approve additional fire station expense

Construction continues on Fire Station No. 1 in Sylvania.

The Blade/Katie Rausch
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Construction continues on Fire Station No. 1 in Sylvania.

Sylvania Township trustees Tuesday approved 2-1 an additional $46,000 in construction and equipment expenses that have been tacked onto the construction bill for Fire Station No. 1.

Sylvania Township Fire Chief Jeff Kowalski presented to trustees at their meeting a list of numerous line items that included both additions and deletions to the project, some that were “mandated” or urged by the Lucas County Building Regulations Department at Tuesday’s trustee meeting.

Of the $46,000 in additional expenses, about $19,000 - which included the installation of a diesel generator instead of gas, and installing tile drains and mesh to separate stone from dirt to stabilize the ground - was already discussed at previous meetings.

The total cost of the project, which includes equipment, cabinets, and internal fixtures for the station is $2,292,434, with a construction cost of $1,993,135, about $28,000 more than Mosser Construction’s initial bid amount for general construction costs.

Among the county mandates, $4,000 was because of the addition of fire resistant materials for the doors, windows, and the ceiling of the apparatus bay where the fire trucks are stored. It will prevent fire from spreading to the second floor sleeping quarters, and other connecting rooms, Chief Kowalski said. Another $3,000 was for an aluminum ladder on the two-section roof.

“Service men that need to make repairs to machinery on the roof will not have to bring their own ladder. That eliminates the possibility of piercing the rubberized roof,” Chief Kowalski said.

A sign affixed to the new fire station.

Another $4,500 was spent on a shower floor system that was installed to bring a shower into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

Some additional project costs were incurred to prevent erosion by constructing a curb on the drive runs along the station leading to Sautter's Market, and to further reinforce a dividing wall that will prevent land from sliding down into the grocery store’s parking lot, which adjoins the back of the fire station.

Chief Kowalski gave the trustees a spreadsheet that detailed $9,000 in money saved, as a result of choosing certain concrete finishes and alternative color pigments for equipment.  

“I’m trying to do things the right way, that way we don’t have to be here years down the road,” he said about choosing quality products where it counts.

Chairman John Jennewine and Trustee Neal Mahoney voted yes on the changes. Trustee Kevin Haddad firmly said "no," citing again that the station should have been built at a different site.

“I was worried about that retention wall by Sautter's,” he said. He said the trustees were supposed to take the lowest and best bid, but with the changes the price is now the "fourth lowest bid." The final cost, he said, will be "over $2.5 million."

Mr. Mahoney asked Administrator John Zeitler about his experience working on new construction projects in Toledo during his county position as director of management and budget.

“The rule of thumb was if you were under 10 percent of your estimated cost it was considered good,” he said. In a letter sent to The Blade, he said the total project cost was 3.7 percent higher than the initial estimate of $2,209,700.

Although Mr. Haddad said the project was over budget, Mr. Zeitler refuted that the project was still within the township's budget of $2.3 million.

Construction of Fire Station No.1, 6633 Monroe St., began in April. It has a completion date of Nov. 1. 

Contact Natalie Trusso Cafarello at: 419-206-0356, or ntrusso@theblade.com, or on Twitter @natalietrusso.