Politics & Government

Kinnelon Firehouse Bid Tabled for Special Meeting [VIDEO]

Council to hear from engineer, architect on whether steel building is a feasible option for Boonton Avenue firehouse.

The will have to wait another week to hear whether the will reject bids and re-bid for construction of a new Boonton Avenue firehouse or accept the bid of Liam Design/Build to build the firehouse for $1,091,875.

After discussing the bids at a regular council meeting Thursday, the council has decided to explore the option of building the proposed structure in steel, as opposed to concrete, with input from Borough Engineer Paul Darmofalski and the architect who designed the new building. Councilman Dan O'Dougherty told the council Thursday he thinks this could save $200,000 on the project. The council will make a decision during a special meeting within the week.

The borough had bonded, and was hoping to spend, $900,000 on the project, which includes the that would be 80 by 50 square feet and two stories high. The new building would feature a third bay and mezzanine that would provide training space for firefighters, as well as space for sleeping quarters in the event that firefighters need to stay over during an emergency. The existing building would be torn down.

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Thirteen bidders bid on the project, the lowest coming in at $1,091,875. The council has debated amending the bond ordinance to meet the amount of the lowest bidder, which would result in an increase of $36 in taxes on the average assessed home in the borough for the total project.

At the council's last meeting on Sept. 8, Darmofalski said he spoke to the owner of Liam about possibly cutting more from the project, but that not enough could be cut, maintaining the current design, to bring the cost down to the $900,000.

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"If you like the project you have, then that's what you're going to pay for," he said.

Time is also an issue with the firehouse project, as the borough was granted $80,000 from Morris County towards the demolition and engineering, but the grant is due to expire on Sept. 30. Mayor Bob Collins told the council he had reached out to the county to request a six-month extension on the grant, and that while he is confident the borough will receive the extension, it has not yet been granted.

O'Dougherty had received quotes from other vendors and said that since the architect had not designed a building out of steel, he recommended the council vote to reject all bids and go out to bid again with an alternate for a steel structure.

"We have enough bonding to do already, as you know, because of and because of some of the other fiscal constraints that we do have this coming year with the 2 percent cap, etcetera, etcetera," he said. "I'm asking that we don't go out and bond for more money and just go with that lowest bid because it's 25 percent higher than what we had already anticipated of the $900,000."

Firefighter Alex Merlucci, who has worked extensively on the project on behalf of the fire company, urged the council Thursday to move ahead in a timely manner. He also told the council that the architect who worked with the fire company on the project looked into steel buildings and determined that was not what was best for the project.

"This is apples to oranges and we have gone through the process of designing a building that meets the needs of the fire company," Merlucci said.

Merlucci also said that the design of a steel building would not conform with what the nearby residents originally said they would be pleased with.

Kinnelon Volunteer Fire Co. Chief Terry Stagg also told the council that the fire company has done its research on steel buildings.

"We have been working for years at this. We have looked at steel buildings, we have talked to owners of steel buildings and during that research, we have found some severe shortcomings on some of these steel buildings," he said.

Stagg said the "shortcomings" include problems with insulation and rust.

"I honestly am very uncomfortable with the way that the bids were just sent out to a steel company and just said, 'Here bid this project.' If they wanted to bid this project in the first place, why didn't they bid the project?" he added. Councilman Andy San Filippo and Collins also said they were uncomfortable with this.

Borough Attorney Mark Madaio defended O'Dougherty's actions in getting quotes on the steel frame of the building and said that it was in compliance with the borough's bidding laws.

Councilman Jim Freda asked Stagg what the rush was to complete the firehouse immediately. Stagg answered that the fire company has had significant problems with the current firehouse, including high humidity levels and severe rust on Tanker 2.

"I think we all agree we need a new firehouse," Councilman Stephen Cobell said. "I think we just want to consider new information that was brought to our attention."

Cobell suggested the council gather more information about whether the steel building would be suitable and convene for a special meeting within one week.

The council unanimously agreed.

"I have no problem giving it a week, but I have my doubts that it's going to do anything," said Councilman Ron Mondello.

After the meeting, Merlucci said he has seen "forward progress" by the council toward the new building and that he is unsure what to expect of what the officials will say about the comparison of the steel building to the concrete building that was planned.

The date of the special meeting is yet to be determined.


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