An additional $5 million may be directed to the Central Emergency Service Area Fire Station Project following Tuesday introduction by the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly of an ordinance citing “increased costs of equipment, labor, shipping and inflation.”
The ordinance says that borough voters in the October 2022 election authorized the issuance of a $16.5 million bond to plan, design and construct a replacement fire station for Central Emergency Services in Soldotna.
CES Chief Roy Browning told the Clarion in July 2022 that Station 1 in Soldotna, initially constructed in 1950, has seen significant wear and tear while also failing to keep up with the agency’s expanding needs. The approved bond would construct an entirely new facility to replace it on a lot adjacent to the borough’s Office of Emergency Management.
A memo attached to the ordinance says that efforts were made to reduce the project’s scope to match the funds allotted, but “additional funds are needed” because of rising costs in both design and development.
The facility that will be constructed, the memo says, will combine three existing facilities “into a more effective and efficient centralized headquarters fire station.”
Browning told the assembly during a finance committee work session on Tuesday that the project is out for bid and additional contingency funds are needed. The appropriation will come from the CES operating fund.
The bid period for the contract closes on June 13, he said, and a contract will be awarded soon after that.
“I think we’ll be, hopefully, setting up a ground breaking very soon,” Browning said. “In the next couple of months.”
The ordinance will be heard and voted on during the assembly’s June 18 meeting.
The ordinance and a full recording of the meeting is available at kpb.legistar.com.
This story was edited Thursday to correct details about the timeline for ordiance approval and status of the ordinance after Tuesday’s meeting.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
