On January 19, 2024, personnel at Cary Fire Station 4 at 1401 Old Apex Road were relocated from their 1987 engine house to a temporary facility added at the front of the building. Engine 4 was moved into a metal shelter beside a modular living unit. The other unstaffed units at Station 4, including a brush truck, Support 4, and an ATV, were relocated to other facilities.
The temporary buildings will be occupied for a year, as Station 4 undergoes extensive renovations that will extend the building’s useable life and mitigate major maintenance and repairs for some 20 years. The resulting “like new” station will include such improvements as an added workout room, energy efficient LED lighting, a fire sprinkler system, and bi-fold doors. The exterior appearance of the building will also be updated.
Station 4 was erected in 1987 and opened in 1988. The three-acre lot was purchased in June 1985. The bid for architectural and engineering services was awarded in July 1986. The site plan was approved in January 1987. The construction contracts were awarded in March 1987.
Station 4 was activated on [goes here] and also housed the town’s first aerial ladder company, Truck 4, which operated a 1988 Pierce Arrow rear-mounted aerial tower. It was placed in service in April-May 1988. An open house at the new station was held on January 29, 1989.
Background
From the Fire Station 4 Renovations Bid Award, from town council meeting minutes on March 23, 2023. Read document.
Speakers: Matt Wetherell, Capital Planning & Facilities Department
Assistant Fire Chief David Ranes, Fire Department
Executive Summary: Cary completed facility assessments of all staffed facilities in 2020 and 2021. This assessment identified Fire Station 4 (FS4), Cary’s second oldest fire station, as the lowest rated public safety facility. As a result of this assessment, a renovation plan was developed to bring the facility to current standards. Fire Stations 3 and 5 were also identified as needing significant work over the next 10 years and renovation projects are identified in future capital budget years for these stations. Renovating FS4 is needed to address the issues identified in the assessment with the goal of creating a “like new” station and extending its usable life. The renovation of Fire Station 4 reinforces the Imagine Cary Community Plan goal of providing comprehensive and top-quality facilities to continue to support Cary providing high quality public services. Along with addressing the issues identified in the facility assessment, the complete renovation of FS4 will bring the station up to current building code requirements, install a fire sprinkler system, install bi-fold doors, and add a workout room.
Recommendation: Staff recommends that Council appropriate $319,608 from General Capital Reserve Interest Income for project completion. Staff also recommends that Council award the bid for construction of the Fire Station 4 Renovation project to Scotia Construction for $2,448,000. Council’s award is a preliminary determination, and no legally binding acceptance of the bid or offer occurs until Gary has executed a written agreement. The contract award is subject to the contractor providing all bonds, insurance and other required documents and executing a contract in a form agreeable to Gary.
Background: Ensuring fire stations are properly maintained is especially important given they are strategically located in a district, they are staffed 24 hours a day 365 days per year, and that many of Cary’s existing stations are 30-40 years old. FS4 was built in 1987 and, while it has had some minor renovations over its 36-year existence, it is showing its age both from a visual and functional perspective. The facility condition assessment completed in FY2020 identified FS4 as being the lowest rated public safety facility and noted many items are either not up to current building code or are reaching the end of their useable life. The consultant-completed assessment provided a twenty-year capital planning matrix, which projected over $1.8 million would need to be spent on maintaining and repairing FS4 over the next twenty years. Over $940,000 of those costs were projected to occur within the next five years.
Discussion: FS4’s building systems and finishes are reaching the end of their
useable life or are outdated and need replacement. After assessment of the 36-year-old facility, staff determined the best and most economical solution to extend the building’s useable life is to renovate the interior spaces and exterior facade while preserving the existing structural and roof systems. FS4 is in the optimal location for its current response district, so a complete renovati0n in the current location that extends the station’s useable life supports Fire staff’s response time goals. A complete renovation is also significantly less costly than acquiring land and building a replacement station somewhere else in the district.
Renovation of FS4 will extend the building’s useable life and mitigate major maintenance and repair items for approximately 20 years. Not only will renovation leave Fire Department staff with a “like new” station, but the facility will also be brought up to current building code and energy efficient LED lighting, fire sprinkler system, and bi-fold bay doors will be installed. The station currently does not have a designated workout room. This renovation will add a workout room, which is the standard in an new Cary fire stations. Fire station workout rooms are available to all municipal staff and set an important function, particularly for fire and police staff due to their schedules. The exterior of the building will also be improved with new landscaping and facade. This will be an improvement over the building’s current plain, brown brick exterior.
Fire staff will continue to operate from the FS4 site during the renovation, which is projected to take 12 months. Staff will operate out of a temporary modular dorm/office building and temporary apparatus bay. These temporary facilities are being rented and upfitted separate from the construction contract. Operating from the current site will ensure emergency response service levels will remain the same during station renovation.
Staff worked with Davis Kane Architects to develop the designs and bid package for the Fire Station 4 Renovation. The project was bid in February 2023.