South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

Fire district to buy ambulance, seek firehouse construction bids

The Mehlville Fire Protection District Board of Directors recently voted unanimously to advertise for the purchase of one replacement ambulance and to seek bids for the construction of engine house No. 1.

Requests for proposals for the ambulance are due July 30, and the next board meeting after that in which the board may award a bid is on Aug. 2. If awarded, the district may not receive an ambulance for about six months after that, according to Kenny Wenk, the district’s mechanic.

This follows a recent accident in which a district ambulance was totaled. After Mehlville Fire Protection District emergency crews responded to a single-car accident on Gravois Road at Interstate 270, a vehicle exiting the interstate crashed into the side of the parked ambulance.

Also during the July 6 Board of Directors meeting, the board decided that Dickinson Hussman Architects would seek bids for a new 39-foot-by-70-foot, two-bay engine house design with a removable structural steel wall on the apparatus bay. The wall could be removed in the future for a bay extension, living quarters addition and the house renovation for an estimated square-foot cost of $109.55 in 2010.

As an alternate bid, the district is interested in a 56-foot-by-70-foot, three-bay engine house to be constructed in 2005. Only the living quarters addition and house renovation would occur in 2010 for a total estimated square-foot cost of $105.90 in 2010.

The district purchased 1.47 acres at 3241 Lemay Ferry Road for the site of the No. 1 firehouse after selling the existing No. 1 firehouse at 7409 S. Lindbergh Blvd. to the Missouri Department of Transportation for $1.15 million.

During last week’s meeting, several employees expressed a preference that the new engine house have three bays and have enough space in the bays so that employees could walk between vehicles parked there.

However, board Secretary David Gralike said that much of the discussion about depth of the bays and whether a third bay should be added was moot.

“My opinion is it’s a moot point. And I totally understand what we need and what we desire, but the point that we need to keep in mind, what I’m reminding everybody is that we’re replacing firehouse No. 1,” he said. “So that we have $1,150,000 to spend. I agree with everybody’s opinions and everybody’s ideas, but we can’t afford them.”

Board Chairman Tom O’Driscoll said that so far the district can afford what is being considered, noting a three-bay firehouse would cost about $825,000, according to Don Hussman of Dickinson Hussman.

But Gralike said he was concerned about “soft” costs, noting that the cost of site-development, contingencies, fees, furnishings and stormwater detention have not been included in initial estimates.

Near the end of the discussion, Gralike stuck with his original position and said he preferred to start design development drawings with two bays, and use the three-bay option for an alternate in seeking bids.

“You’ll get your two-bay costs and we’ll get the guys’ three-bay cost, and that will answer those questions,” Chief Ray Haddock said to Gralike after board members approved seeking construction bids.

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