Trustees debate new DPW building versus fire station remodel; no final decision, staff to refine specs

Trustees spent the largest portion of the April 10 meeting discussing options for a proposed new Department of Public Works (DPW) building and the future of the village’s fire station. Staff showed conceptual drawings from Morton Building and peer architects (Fisher/Fisher) and presented preliminary cost ranges. No binding decision was made; trustees asked staff and consultants for additional cost verification and clarified next steps.

Planner/consultant presentation: Mike (representing Morton Building) presented a concept for an 81-by-104-foot DPW building with an 18-foot interior ceiling and a 3:12 roof pitch (Morton’s structural recommendation). He explained that changing the roof pitch to 6:12 would raise the peak substantially (roughly 10 feet higher) and would add roughly $100,000 to the building cost, while adding little operational benefit. Morton’s preliminary estimate for the DPW building, including a three-hour fire barrier to avoid a full sprinkler system, was presented in the $1.5–$1.8 million range; staff stressed that final bid documents and specifications were still being prepared.

Fire-station study and comparisons: The village also reviewed conceptual options for the fire station — either a remodel/expansion of the existing facility or construction of a new station. Architect teams said the existing building can be improved, but doing so to fully meet current program needs is technically complex and may require vacating the station during construction; a new building tends to offer higher long-term functionality but at higher initial cost. Consultants provided high-level project budget estimates; participants noted costs vary by scope and local construction-market conditions.

Board positions and concerns: Trustees split. Several trustees said they would not authorize formal bidding for the DPW building until they had firm, comparable cost estimates for the fire-station remodel and for replacement options so they could weigh combined impacts and possible referendum timing. Trustee Bob argued for moving forward with the DPW building now (citing urgent storage and equipment needs) and suggested building a usable shell if the board wanted to delay finishing interior systems. Other trustees, including members who wanted additional certainty on fire-station costs, asked staff to obtain three independent cost figures for the fire-station options and to clarify how the DPW building location would or would not constrain a future fire-station remodel.

Process and next steps: The board directed staff and consultants to finish the bid/spec package for the DPW building and for architects to provide a refined schematic for the fire-station remodel to allow apples-to-apples cost comparison. No final motion to bid was taken at the meeting. Consultants recommended that, before any major renovation of the fire station is undertaken, the village determine temporary housing for fire operations because comprehensive upgrades will likely require vacating the facility. Trustees also discussed whether to include a fire barrier instead of sprinklers in the DPW building to control costs, and several trustees asked for clearer site plans showing both buildings in place.

Outcome: Direction to continue design/specification work. Staff will return with refined cost estimates for (a) the DPW building bid package and (b) a more detailed schematic for a fire-station remodel and replacement options to support a board decision on whether to proceed to public bidding or put a referendum before voters.