Expansion of Olive Hill fire station imminent - Project to go out for re-bid

North County Fire Protection District (NCFPD) Station #3, in the 4100 block of Olive Hill Road, is going to be expanded shortly. In preparation, assigned fire personnel have moved all necessary equipment into temporary quarters on the property.

“We’re adding 2,384 more square feet of space to the station,” Deputy Chief Charlie Glasgow said. “It currently contains 2,098 square feet, including the garage space for the engine.” The station was built in 1975.

While the firefighters are repositioned for the construction, a delay has been experienced concerning the awarding of the bid for the project.

“We have to go out for re-bid for the project because we only received one bid and it was substantially higher than expected,” Glasgow said. The district will open up the bidding process mid-month, according to Glasgow, and will look to award the bid to a contractor at the February 27 board meeting.

“We typically look for three or more bids,” Glasgow said. The board has budgeted $433,007 for the project, but the actual amount of the project cost is unknown until the next bid opening and a recommendation is developed and presented at the board meeting.

“We’re making some changes to the engineering aspects of the plan that we hope to finalize with the county within a week or so,” Glasgow said.

The one-bathroom existing structure has adequate space to house two personnel in a common sleeping area. “The expansion will allow us to accommodate five personnel and have individual sleeping quarters,” Glasgow said. “The new plan includes two bathrooms and three showers.” Additional personnel are assigned to the station depending on weather conditions.

The need to expand the station first came about when NCFPD implemented a Wellness Program in 2004.

“Part of that program was to outfit each of the fire stations with a complement of workout equipment – stationary bikes, treadmills, a Universal gym and more,” Glasgow explained. “The idea is to keep our firefighters in shape and to keep them in their first-in station. The problem is the stations were not originally designed with enough room for that equipment. The equipment has been spread around wherever there was an open spot. Now this station will have a specified workout room for the fitness equipment.”

When asked if the county process pertaining to the project has taken longer than anticipated, Glasgow said, “Even before we were able to start the permit process, we had to deal with septic re-engineering, traffic impact and more. But, overall, it was about what we had anticipated. We were hopeful that it would go quicker, but it’s not a surprise.” Glasgow said he has heard of longer delays than those North County Fire has experienced.

“I have talked to people who are two to three years into building a facility like this,” he said. “What made our process more rapid was that there was an existing building already. However, one of the things we had to do was to prove to the county that the site was approved for this use; we had to prove that the parcel was legal to build on for this use.”

The only effect the project has had on area residents thus far is that the facility has not been used as a Registrar of Voters official polling place in some recent elections.

“The timing of the remodel process has been uncertain, so we have not been able to offer it as a polling place,” Glasgow said. “As soon as the remodel is complete we will continue to provide the community service of offering it as a polling place.”

Once the bid has been awarded to a contractor, the contractor will have 180 days by contract to complete the project.

“We welcome all licensed general contractors to bid on the project,” Glasgow said. “They must be able to post a performance bond for the amount of the project; other than that, it is just standard governmental bidding.”

For more information, call North County Fire Protection District at (760) 723-2005.