Change orders totaling more than $334,400 were approved by the Mehlville Fire Protection District at its Sept. 11 meeting.
The change orders, totaling $334,481.67, are related to the ongoing renovation project at MFPD’s Engine House 5, which has not been updated since 2000. The renovations at the engine house are funded by Proposition 1, a 20-cent tax rate increase approved by voters in the fire district in 2022.
“We have been working with Chief and other staff members as we go through this, to come up with some items that we need to modify based on different criteria, modifications that will enhance the project based on your needs or other changes,” Roy Mangan, project manager and principal at Archimages, said.
He added that he had not had the chance to look over some cost estimates as they were received by Archimages that day, so some of the numbers may change.
The first line item was a change order on permit reimbursable costs, with the proposed cost sitting at $16,423.
“As we’ve explained to you guys in previous meetings, the way we set this up is the general contractor is to pay for the permits, and then the owner will reimburse them. That way the owner isn’t getting an estimate on the permit costs. It’s a win-win situation for both parties,” Mangan said.
The next line item was modifications on the patio screen wall, shortening it so the proposed baby box area isn’t covered up. MFPD already has a baby box installed at one of its other engine houses, House 2. The addition of trench drains in the area was included as well to ensure proper drainage. In total, the proposed cost was listed as $8,163.71.
Next was the demolition of closets and the addition of three doors in the conference room/administrative area, totaling $11,992.91.
Removing and replacing the existing boardroom walls with sound partitions was next on the list for $31,714.88.
“We had designed the existing boardroom to remove the front wall to give you guys more space, and then a wall (would be added) on the back side of that (room) to create a wall between the boardroom and the break room,” Mangan said. “This is the cost to go in and do an upgraded, higher-level sound wall actually surrounding the entire boardroom now, and get that up to the highest level of a sound wall we can.”
The next item was originally to replace some existing ductwork while cleaning and sealing the remaining existing ductwork for a total of $246,550.72. Upon further discussion, however, the board and Fire Chief Brian Hendricks decided it would make more sense to replace the entirety of the ductwork despite the steep price.
“I look at this as a 50-year building … and I just think that cutting the corners on something as important as ductwork, especially with the history that we’ve had with the air conditioning system. We’ve struggled at House 2, we’ve struggled kind of at House 4. That just makes me a little nervous to go through all this expense, put all the mechanical systems in, and not really take a look at that ductwork. That’s just my opinion. I understand that…as we continue down this list, it’s going to get pretty expensive pretty quick,” Hendricks said.
“Well, I just think, especially if at any point the systems tie together, it would be stupid to do one and not the other,” board treasurer Dr. Bonnie Stegman added.
Several proposed change orders were lumped together in the discussion as they all involved additional airflow. First under this section was the addition of large industrial wall fans on the back wall of the apparatus bay for $8,712.30.
“The other two items in that component is to take the hose tower that we had set up to infill already, put a ceiling in it and create more of a storage closet back there, then add a grill…to create another airflow in the overall area,” Mangan said. “It’s definitely going to help the air movement on those hot summer days.”
The two items combined would cost $9,640.67.
“Those three change orders, I think are critical. That engine room, especially when we have those ambulances plugged in, generates a significant amount of heat. I think that these changes will definitely address the engine room because right now it can be unbearable in the middle of summer. I think those three change orders are definitely worth it,” Hendricks said.
Two other proposed change orders involved removing an office door and extending casework for a total of $7,268.48.
The next item was to remove three doors and frames in the administration office, saving $5,985.
There was some discussion about bulletproofing, though for a variety of reasons, the item was held for Hendricks to look over more, with a decision to come at a future meeting. The board did, however, authorize Mangan and Archimages to move forward with the other items as they did not want to delay construction.