INSIDE

District puts off decision on new building

By Meg Olson

Faced with bids double or more than the anticipated project cost, fire district commissioners agreed to put plans for an additional building on hold.

“I think $378,000 for a 3,000 square-foot garage is a little over the top,” said fire commissioner David Gellatly at the October 10 meeting of fire district #4. “It’s not going to fit in the budget we have and we need to look at some other options.”

The fire district has permitted a metal building to the west of the existing fire station, and engineers had estimated it would cost the district $220,000 to build it, funds the district expected to recoup through the sale of the old Julius Station on Gulf Road once equipment was moved to the new building. Two bids came in on the project, and the lowest was $378,000.

“We weren’t trying to build the Taj Mahal, but we tried to do some things to make the building consistent with the local character plan, make it more appealing,” said fire chief Bill Skinner. If they could get the low-bidder to come down in price by paring the project down to a bare metal shell, he speculated, it might come closer to a figure the commissioners could live with.

Another option would be to reclaim the space currently used by the bingo operation and reconfigure the existing station, and Skinner said that would be his preference. “That would be my first choice – to utilize this facility as a fire station – in one building,” he said.

Point Roberts Fireman’s Bingo president Fred DeHahn was invited to the meeting to bring the bingo operation into the discussion of the facility’s future. “Who knows,” he said when asked if he thought the bingo operation could hang on. “They lose customers monthly and they don’t make bingo players anymore.” DeHahn later confirmed that the bingo operation would shut down permanently at the end of November.

Gellatly said losing bingo would have financial consequences for the district. “We lose bingo, we lose the rent and incur more expenses,” he said. The charity has been paying the utilities for the fire station, as well as in more prosperous times given the district the funds to build the fire station itself.

However, with bingo gone commissioners can look at how to utilize more than half of the facility that has been the bingo hall.

“To redevelop this building would be a major expense,” Skinner said. A past bid, possibly 10 years old, from an architecture firm was $300,000, he said.

“In today’s market we’re probably talking a minimum of $1 million.” He said the redesign of the building might need to include seismic upgrades and additional safety features such as a sprinkler system if the new configuration included commercial space for rent alongside a larger fire station.

Commissioners expressed concern about going to voters to fund a substantial construction project when they were also in need of a new fire engine. “To go for a million dollar bond issue when we have other things we’ll need to go to them for seems like an extravagance,” said Susan Brownrigg.

Skinner said in the long term perhaps it would be best to do it right the first time. “I kind of feel in 25 years a million to totally revamp this and have one facility is worth it as opposed to sending a quarter million on another stand alone facility.” Today the district houses equipment in two locations – the Gulf Road and Benson Road stations.

Gellatly suggested discussions with the bingo operation, the hospital district and other parties potentially interested in commercial space should come first. “I can’t see us making any discussions on this until the new year,” he said. “This isn’t something we can just keep pushing back.”