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Fire station remodel bid awarded

At the February 27 board meeting of the North County Fire Protection District, a $757,248 bid to remodel Station 3 (4100 block of Olive Hill Road) was awarded to Riopelle Development Company (RDC) of Oceanside.

“It wasn’t the lowest bid, it was the second lowest bid; the lowest bid did not include all the proper documentation necessary,” said NCFPD Deputy Chief Charlie Glasgow.

Work is expected to begin soon on the project, as a performance bond was a bid requirement.

“I would be disappointed if they didn’t start demolition right away, but it depends on the contractor’s schedule,” Glasgow said. “There is a 180-day performance clause in the contract and we have made sure that the station is ready right now for someone to start work on.”

RDC President Tim Riopelle said in a telephone interview that this will be the first fire agency project his 22-year old company has embarked on. Until recently, RDC has specialized in the construction of medical facilities.

“We felt we needed to go outside of our normal niche and expand into another area as well,” Riopelle said. “In the past, we have focused primarily on the construction of medical space. We have done some nice facilities such as the Imaging Pavilion for Scripp’s La Jolla and other prestigious projects.” RDC has also constructed facilities at Scripp’s Encinitas and Chula Vista locations as well as Palomar-Pomerado Medical Center.

“We work throughout Southern California,” Riopelle said. “We are now actively bidding fire agency work and Fallbrook is a good start because it is a retrofit of an existing center; it’s a good stepping stone.”

Glasgow said the North County Fire Board of Directors authorized an extensive remodel of Fire Station 3 as part of the budget development for fiscal year 2005-2006. The initial budget for remodel was $287,300. In February 2006 an upgrade to the plan was approved by the board, requiring an additional estimated $155,707 for a total budgeted amount of $443,007. The first request for bid resulted in one “responsive” bidder, Glasgow reported. This bid, by EC Constructors, Inc., was for $996,000. The board rejected the bid and authorized staff to go out for bid a second time, with certain modifications to reduce project costs.

The second request for bids resulted in 15 respondents. The board was advised by Glasgow that the project might require additional authorization and transfer of funds from facility reserves. The facility reserve account balance is currently reported to be $2,339,075.

According to the North County Fire timeline associated with the project, demolition is expected to begin this month and the project is expected to be completed in August. Fire personnel at that station have already vacated the premises and are being housed in a temporary facility on the property.

Riopelle says his company was pleased to hear they had been awarded the bid and he is eager to have his crew begin the project.

“I feel my company has a distinct advantage in the industry because of the in-house staff we have,” he said. “We have architects in our office; we’re more formal. We have project management, an accounting office and we’re just set up a little differently, more professional. It allows our people in the field to have a more direct tie to questions and answers that pertain to plans. I think this will help the process.”

 

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