The Saline County Commission has approved a bid for the construction of two new fire stations for Rural Fire District Number One. The stations will be built in the cities of Gypsum and Carlton (Dickinson County).
Fire Chief of Rural Fire District No. 1, Justin Ade, presented the bid recommendation to the commission. Nine bids were received and opened on August 26. The Rural Fire District's Board of Trustees reviewed the bids at a special meeting on August 29.
The commission approved the bid from Wiebe Construction of Tampa, Kansas, despite it not being the lowest bid received. The total bid amount is $1,312,196, but with two deductive alternates, the final cost will be $1,036,119.
Chief Ade explained the reasoning behind choosing Wiebe Construction:
- They can start construction sooner, which is beneficial for winter preparations
- They received good recommendations and have a reputation for quality work
- The fire district board felt more confident about getting service for the buildings in the future
- Weibe took time to meet with the fire district and walk through the job sites
- Their bid package was extremely detailed
- The Gypsum station will be 80 by 100 feet, while the Carlton station will be 50 by 80 feet. The deductive alternates will remove the meeting room and mezzanine storage in the Gypsum station, and remove the truck bay plumbing, sprinklers, and modify the floor drain in the Carlton station.
Some commissioners expressed concern about not choosing the lowest bid, which was approximately $70,000 less. However, they ultimately deferred to the judgment of the fire district board.
The fire district does not plan to raise its mill levy to pay for the new stations, stating they have worked it into their existing budget.
(Note: the funds come from tax dollars from the fire district not Saline County).
