Procurement News Notice |
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| PNN | 2440 |
| Work Detail | Construction is finally underway on a new firehouse on Main Street in the Village of Wellsburg, but it won't be what village officials originally envisioned. The existing fire station on Front Street, which sits near the confluence of Bentley Creek and the Chemung River, was damaged along with much of downtown Wellsburg by floodwaters triggered by Tropical Storm Lee in 2011. While the Federal Emergency Management Agency originally promised more than $3 million in federal funds to erect a new firehouse outside of the flood zone, what the village finally got was about $660,000 less than expected, according to Mayor Malcolm Coles. As a result, the village decided to go ahead with a bare-bones plan that will provide space for firefighters, trucks and equipment, along with a room for a state police substation, but no other amenities, Coles said. The building also will be much smaller than the original 14,000-square-foot structure that was planned, he said. "We were able to let bids and cut 3,000 square feet of space off the original building plan," Coles said. "On top of that, for a third of the building — which means the kitchen and banquet hall — the shell will be built, but there's no actual kitchen there, no hall to be built. The firemen's member room is not even being built. Along with that, because of the shortfall of money, none of the building will have a tile floor, and it won't get painted inside. "The only thing that gets completely done is the truck room for trucks and state police barracks," he said. "There will be a concrete floor. There's no money to paint the parking lot, and not even any for putting in any outside lights." If all goes as planned, the basic firehouse should be done and ready for occupancy by the end of the year, Coles said. After that, the village will have to look for alternative funding sources to finish the job, he said. Wellsburg ended up getting more than $2.67 million from FEMA, Coles said. FEMA spokesman Don Caetano said previously the federal share of assistance is no less than 75 percent of the eligible cost for emergency measures and permanent restoration, and that the agency met that obligation. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, and U.S. Rep. Tom Reed, R-Corning, both lobbied FEMA to make sure Wellsburg got its fair share. "When the village of Wellsburg was inundated with flood waters and their firehouse decimated, we worked with the town and fire department to secure $2.8 million from FEMA to rebuild ?a new fire house," Schumer spokesman Jason Kaplan said. "Sen. Schumer leaped into action and called on FEMA Administrator Fugate to reverse course and immediately deliver the funds to rebuild a new firehouse. The senator remains committed to making sure that FEMA has done right by the community and will work with local leaders to get the job done.” Chemung County has pledged up to $300,000 to help finish the facility on the contingency that the state grants Casella Waste Systems, which operates the county landfill, a permit to expand operations. "That is exactly where we are. We’re still in for that amount of money," said County Executive Tom Santulli. "It’s not going to be immediate. I don’t know the time frame. The county is still going to honor that commitment and we’re moving forward." That money will be great but not enough to do everything that's still needed, Coles said. The village will probably have to look at some kinds of local fundraising efforts to get the rest, he said. After the fire department and state police move to the new facility, the village will still use the old fire hall for meetings and rentals to the community, but at least the fire department will have a safer headquarters in the meantime, the mayor said. "We will use the old building once a month for a food truck. Also twice a month, we do a food pantry. That will still be run out of the old fire station," Coles said. "What I have to look at is I promised my firemen I would get them out of harm's way. It’s not perfect, but at least they will be out of harm's way with the flooding. It’s not a complete building, but we’ll just have to figure out how we finish what we started." |
| Country | United States , Northern America |
| Industry | Construction |
| Entry Date | 03 Sep 2016 |
| Source | http://www.stargazette.com/story/news/local/2016/08/24/construction-finally-underway-wellsburg-firehouse/89259668/ |
