Initial cost estimates for the replacement fire station on Olde Towne Road have fallen short, as unexpected soil problems and other adjustments will likely cost James City County nearly $700,000 in additional expenses.
In his proposed budget for 2014, County Administrator Robert Middaugh has allocated $669,130 toward the new Fire Station No. 4. The county poured $3.4 million into the project in fiscal year 2012.
The funds will come from the county’s sale of a parcel of land in the Wellington subdivision off Rochambeau Drive.
Since 2012, the county has discovered the soil is not conducive for proper stormwater management, a power line must be buried underground and a shared driveway has been added to the design for better visitor access to the fire station.
To fix the soil problem, the county will have to import soil and build up a soil base to prevent potential runoff issues.
The visitor entrance to the fire station will be a shared driveway with Protection by Design and Jamestown Christian Fellowship. Emergency vehicles will still enter and exit the station onto Olde Towne Road.
The new fire station is still in the design phase. HVC-Chenault Architectural Corporation was awarded the design contract and AES Consulting Engineers is working on the site design. AES submitted a design package to the county on Tuesday, including the entire site plan, signs, lighting and landscaping.
HVC-Chenault submitted a preliminary drawing of the new fire station last year and has not completed a detailed drawing of the station yet. Within the next 30 to 60 days, HVC-Chenault hopes to be closer to an approved architectural design, said Craig Covey, company president of HVC-Chenault.
The county is hoping for the design to be completed by late April or early May. Once the design is done, the county will seek contractor bids on the project. A contractor will likely be chosen by mid-summer, said Bernie Farmer, the capital projects coordinator for the county. Construction may take between 12 and 18 months, and no completion date has been set.
“There isn’t an exact time frame; obviously we don’t want it to take that long,” Farmer said.
The existing station will remain operational while the new station is being built. Once the new station is built, staff will transition in a matter of hours. There will be no adverse impact on services due to construction or the move between buildings.
The existing fire station is a pre-engineered metal building, built in the late 1970s, comprising about 4,700 square feet with room for fire trucks and office and living space for six staff members.
The new station will be about 12,500 square feet for a projected 12-person staff and will have an expended fire truck bay, dorm space, office space for the captain and patrol officer, a kitchen, watch room, decontamination room and hose tower. Currently, there are 10 parking spaces and the new station has 26 proposed spaces.
“We could have made it within budget but it would not have functioned the way the fire department would have wanted,” Middaugh said.
History
In July 2012, the James City County Board of Supervisors approved rezoning a parcel of land next to the existing station, which was purchased so the new station could be erected, and a special use permit for construction of the station.
In November 2012, the Board of Supervisors voted 4-1, with Stonehouse Supervisor Jim Kennedy opposing, to ask the Planning Commission to consider rezoning the 15-acre parcel of land at 225 Meadowcrest Trail near the Wellington and Mirror Lakes subdivisions.
The Planning Commission has not yet hosted a public hearing on the rezoning.
Ryan Homes representatives want to purchase the land from the county to construct homes in the planned subdivision Windsor Ridge. The land is zoned for public use and would need to be rezoned for residential development.
