Council set to move ahead with two fire station projects

The Cape Girardeau City Council will look to move ahead with two fire station projects when it meets tonight.

The council is expected to approve the hiring of Zoellner Construction Co. of Perryville, Missouri, to erect a pre-engineered metal building for use as a maintenance facility at fire station No. 2 on Mount Auburn Road.

The council also will be asked to approve a $3 million, design-build contract with Penzel Construction Co. for a new fire station at 3011 Lexington Ave. The new fire station would replace the cramped and outdated fire station on Kurre Lane, which was built in 1974.

Zoellner submitted the low bid of $218,000 for the maintenance building, which was under the $226,000 engineer's estimate, city officials said.

The steel-framed, 8,000-square-foot facility would have four bays and contain space to perform maintenance work on fire engines, city code enforcement manager Anna Kangas wrote in a report to the council.

The structure also would include office and storage space, a mezzanine and deck.

Under the agreement, construction could take just over four months once the contractor receives a notice to proceed.

Fire chief Rick Ennis said firetrucks currently have to be parked outside the fire station when there is a need for maintenance work.

Construction of a new, three-bay fire station on Lexington Avenue is expected to begin this fall. It will be designed much like fire station No. 3 on North Sprigg, officials said.

Firetrucks will be able to enter the station from the rear. The trucks will exit onto Lexington when responding to fires, Ennis said.

Ennis said residents in the Lexington Street neighborhoods have voiced few objections to the proposed fire station.

The city recently surveyed residents who live near fire stations 3 and 4 to see how they felt about their proximity to the stations.

"As expected, the feedback was very positive and demonstrates that firefighters typically make good neighbors," Ennis wrote in a report recently shared with the council.

Resident Vereline Johnson lives on North Sprigg Street near Fire Station 3. In her survey response, she wrote, "I feel the fire station brings a level of safety to the neighborhood. The firemen are all so pleasant ... I have no complaints at all."

Construction of the new fire station is expected to begin this fall, officials said.

Penzel and its design partners proposed construction of a single-story, 10,225-square-foot structure with a walkout basement. The design-build team said it would take four to five months to design the station and seven months to build.

Other upgrades for the fire department also are on the drawing board. The city plans to remodel and update the living quarters at fire stations 1 and 2.

Ennis said plans call for expanding fire station no. 1 at Sprigg and Independence streets. The station is the city's main fire station.

The expansion would occur on the south end of the building. In addition, changes are needed to improve security at the station entrance, Ennis said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.