Bowling Green’s work-in-progress Fire Station No. 5 and public safety training center was again the focus of the Bowling Green City Commission on Tuesday with a request for additional funding.

Commissioners approved an additional $192,381 for contractor Scott, Murphy & Daniel to further address “numerous karst anomalies” found throughout the area. Commissioners in September reluctantly agreed to an additional $707,653 in construction costs after sinkholes were initially found.

An additional $900,000 in total has so far been allocated for the $16 million Porter Pike project that will replace Northside Fire Station No. 5 when complete.

“This is very much akin to a patient on the operating table, and as soon as the surgeon opens that patient up, it’s worse than we had expected,” Director of Public Works Andy Souza said. “That is exactly what’s happening at Fire Station No. 5.”

Each commissioner was critical of the change. Melinda Hill and Dana Beasley-Brown suggested seeking restitution from architecture firm Brandstetter Carroll, who did not accept all recommendations from their engineering advisers.

“I’m a firm believer that we need to hold Brandstetter Carroll accountable for the job they didn’t do for us and costing the citizens of Bowling Green this amount of money,” Hill said.

Several commissioners noted that Scott, Murphy & Daniel has done as much as possible to remediate issues and does not deserve blame.

City Attorney Hillary Hightower told commissioners that there was likely no legally binding avenue to seek restitution from Brandstetter Carroll but said they would reach out to discuss potential remediation.

Hightower added that even if Brandstetter Carroll had accepted engineer recommendations, the cost of the project would inevitably include the $900,000 addition.

“For example, if we had built the building and not have known, we’d then have had to go back and fix it with the additional cost,” Hightower said. “If they had realized that and told (Scott, Murphy & Daniel), we would still pay the amount we’re paying.”

Commissioner Carlos Bailey said had they been aware of the issues earlier, they could have chosen a new location, though City Manager Jeff Meisel said that might not have been feasible due to the costs already associated with the current location.

Eric Chambers, a representative of Brandstetter Carroll, said in September that Thoroughbred Engineering identified potential karst features during the design process and recommended a micropile foundation consisting of numerous concrete pillars drilled into the ground.

“Unfortunately, our engineers, during the design, went with what they believed to be an adequate footing and foundation system and did not heed all of the recommendations (from) the geotech,” Chambers said. “We unfortunately did not catch that when we went out to bid.”

Souza said then that the city was not aware of Thoroughbred’s initial recommendation, which came in the form of a December 2022 report, but now “we know to go look.”

Tuesday’s almost $200,000 addition, in part, resulted from issues in installing that micropile foundation, which is roughly 40% complete. The 30-foot holes filled with rebar and cement have used more grout than expected, likely due to “horizontal fractures in the ground” causing leaks at the drill site.

Roughly half of the additional funding will go toward specialized “socks” in each hole that contractors hope will better retain grout, Meisel said.

Roughly $50,000 will go toward changing the flooring of the training center at the request of training staff. The new flooring is “optimized for combative/self-defense training and is standard across the Law Enforcement Community,” according to Hehner’s report.

The remaining funds will be retained in the case of future expenses. Meisel said the project did not include a typical 10% contingency fund in order to keep the cost as “bare bones” as possible, but had it included a contingency, the $900,000 in change orders would only drain roughly half the fund.

“The $900,000 will just help us from not having to bring every single little-bitty thing back every two weeks and wait for (commissioners) to approve some,” Meisel said.

Commissioners ultimately approved the change in a 4-1 vote with Hill as the sole no.

Commissioners on Tuesday also authorized a grant submission to the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management for Kentucky Hazard Mitigation Grant Program seeking up to $1,086,750 to construct two tornado shelters.

The grant would require a 13% funding match from the city totaling $188,370 and a 12% match from the state totaling $173,880. The city could possibly utilize local park land value as an in-kind match, Meisel said.

The two new shelters, which would bring the total number of planned shelters up to seven, will likely be built at Hobson Grove Park and Lampkin Park.

A timeline for construction has not yet been presented due to a state-level wait for grant agreement approval.

Brent Childers, director of neighborhood and community services, told the Daily News earlier this month that constructing shelters is a “slow process” but hoped to see movement made this year.

Also on Tuesday, commissioners accepted a $500,000 grant through the 2023 Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Program to supplement four new full-time career law enforcement positions over three years.

The grant will supplement 35% of those positions’ salary and benefits with the rest taken on by the city.

Commissioners will return for their next session on Dec. 5.