Expansion starts at BGFD headquarters
Published 12:00 am Monday, March 23, 2009
- Hunter Wilson/Daily NewsScott, Murphy & Daniel will build a new administrative office for the Bowing Green Fire Department and renovate the existing headquarters under a $2.6 million bid approved in February. The nearly 30-year-old headquarters will get a new roof and expanded living areas as the growing staff fills space now used for offices, Fire Chief Greg Johnson said. The new office building will go up next to the current station. It will include a large meeting room for government and public use, Johnson said.
The first part of a two-stage expansion of Bowling Green Fire Department headquarters is under way.
A new two-story administrative office is being built next to the existing John Moltenberry Fire Station. It will face Sixth Avenue, and should be done in 10 months, according to a city press release. The new building will include a classroom and meeting area, capable of holding about 100 people, which will be available for public meetings, Fire Chief Greg Johnson said.
Centralizing administration should improve the department’s efficiency, he said in the city announcement.
When fire administration can move into the new office, renovation will begin on the existing station. That work is expected to take about six months.
“This building is nearly 30 years old, and is in need of maintenance beyond routine,” Johnson said.
It will get a new roof and ventilation system, with the administrative offices being converted into living quarters for larger fire crews.
Scott, Murphy & Daniel contractors are doing the work after winning the job with a $2.6 million bid, approved Feb. 3. All original bids for the job exceeded the $3.2 million budget by several hundred thousand dollars. The city negotiated with the three lowest bidders, and knocked nearly $1 million off the price. Johnson attributed the cost reduction to the city’s direct purchase of materials and contractors’ eagerness for a big job in the current recession.
City commissioners agreed in January 2008 to sell bonds for this project, the new Greenwood fire station and expansion of the airport fire station. Those bonds are to be paid out of the Fire Improvement Fund, which is fueled by receipts from the city’s insurance premium tax.
A grand opening for the public is planned at the buildings’ completion.
