A member of the Chehalis Fire Department looks out the window of a temporary fire station Tuesday evening in Chehalis.
An ambulance with Chehalis Fire Department is seen parked outside a temporary fire station earlier this month in Chehalis.
Chehalis Fire Department engines are parked outside a temporary fire station Tuesday evening in Chehalis.
The costs associated with constructing a temporary Chehalis fire station after the termination of the city’s station sharing agreement with Lewis County Fire District 6 have surpassed original estimates, city staff said Monday.
City staff have also been working toward the purchase of a piece of property for a permanent fire station location and hope to bring a finalized purchase agreement for the $1.2 million property to the council at the July 27 council meeting.
The address of that site has not yet been made public.
The Chehalis firefighters spent their first night at the temporary fire station location this past Saturday on the city-owned piece of property at 710 Arkansas Way, but the city still needs to build a temporary structure to house the fire engines and the cost for the temporary structures and site preparations have exceeded original estimations. Once the structure is purchased, it will continue to be used at the site of the permanent fire station location once the property is purchased.
The Chehalis City Council decided to go forward with the 710 Arkansas Way site, located between Home Depot and Walmart, at their meeting on June 8 after city staff presented the temporary site options.
After discussion at the council meeting on Monday afternoon, the council approved the additional authorization for site work increasing the estimated project total by $70,000 — going from the initially estimated $150,000 to an amount not to exceed $220,000 for the emergency fire station site preparation.
The council also approved an amount not to exceed $205,000 for the purchase of the fire engine shelter — which includes the delivery and set-up of the mobile structures, installation of radio equipment and utilities.
The temporary structure to protect and secure the fire department vehicles is a steel structure that is 60 feet by 68 feet. Trent Lougheed, Chehalis’ public works director, said that it is the hope that when that building arrives in eight weeks the city will be able to construct it on the permanent site, not at the temporary site on Arkansas Way.
In the meantime, the fire engines will be protected by a tent-like structure that costs up to $6,500.
Site preparation costs based upon “time and material,” about $200,000, is being paid through the airport fund because the improvements will increase future rent of the property. The remaining costs come out of the city’s general fund, according to the agenda report.
“These are no throw-away amounts, these are (mobile structures) that would most likely be used for several years while we are designing and funding and constructing a permanent site,” said Chehalis City Manager Jill Anderson.
Council members expressed frustration with the increase in cost, the use of a non-local contractor and in the underlying reasons that caused the city to be in this situation. Councilor Isaac Pope said that he didn’t want the public to think that the city is in this situation because they didn’t plan.
“We made arrangements with district 6, they agreed with us and allowed us to be there. If some of our employees had not created a problem they would still be there and we would still be on track for the property that we are going to purchase,” Pope said. “This situation continues to cost us money at no fault of the administration of trying to do it right. We’re in this situation because we have some employees that think they have all the answers and create problems for us and each time they do that they cost us money.”
In late April, Lewis County Fire District 6 Board of Commissioners voted to terminate the interlocal fire station sharing agreement with the Chehalis Fire Department giving the City of Chehalis until July 5 to find an emergency fire station location. LCFD6 has since agreed to extend the vacate deadline to July 17 to give Chehalis a little more to time to prepare their temporary fire station location. The City of Chehalis has been in the process of finding a new fire station since the old fire station, located at 455 NW Park St., was deemed unsafe after asbestos was found. The Chehalis firefighters moved into LCFD6 station, at 2123 Jackson Hwy., in August of 2018.
The city has submitted a purchase offer on a piece property for a permanent fire station but a feasibility study is still in progress. City staff is hoping to present for approval a finalized purchase agreement to the council at the next meeting on July 27.
The City of Chehalis’ finance director Chun Saul stated in the agenda report that the city will need financing for the purchase of the piece of property, which is about $1.2 million, and the funding for the purchase of the mobile structures at the temporary location.
The city has been exploring funding options and decided that a private placement offering is the best option.
“Given the size of the debt and the need for flexibility of timing of funding and early call option, a private placement offering is likely the best option for financing the fire station land purchase,” states the agenda report.
“We recognize that this is a lot more money than we anticipated and certainly we didn’t anticipate doing it now, but we’re in the position where we’re at and we’re doing our best to make it work and my hope and my belief is that in six months we will be in a much better position,” Anderson said.
