Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

Re: "NCFPD moves forward to secure Station 5 financing" [Village News, 9/5/2013]

I read with great interest that the NCFPD was unable to further lower costs for the long delayed Station # 5.

The Sept. 5 article stated the current bid cost is about $4.7 million, which was about 34 percent higher than the 2010 estimate of $3.5 million. The article claimed the cost increase was due to inflation in construction costs.

A quick review of the nationally published cost indices for San Diego for the same period of time indicated that costs have increased about 2 percent per year over the same period or a total cost increase of about 6 percent. The difference is about $980,000.

I discussed the matter with Deputy Chief Sprague and he indicated the District had reduced square footage and had made other changes to get to the $4.7 million number.

If this were a private entity dealing with their own money, they very likely would make additional substantial changes to the plans or the project would not proceed.

Chief Sprague indicated that financing was approved at a meeting last week. We need a new fire station, but not one this expensive.

I am a retired architect, structural engineer and civil engineer and have built projects, in today’s dollars, whose total cost was over $450 million on buildings ranging in size from high rises to branch banks. I know the business very well. NCFPD should be seriously prodded to reduce project costs substantially or abandon it. It’s our tax dollars; costs are important to the taxpayer.

Harry Stitle

 

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