Prescott council approves land purchase and $2.43M design contract for three new fire stations

The Prescott City Council on Oct. 28 adopted an ordinance approving purchase of roughly 1.36 acres from the James Revocable Trust for a new fire station site and approved a $2,427,218.13 design contract with Pearlman Architects to design three fire-station projects, including a new Station 76, relocation of the airport structural engine to Station 73, and an upgrade analysis for Station 72.

The ordinance authorizing the land purchase passed 7-0; the design-services contract later passed 6-1. City staff said the projects are funded by the voter-approved Proposition 478 dedicated sales tax and are intended to improve emergency response coverage and capacity.

What the city approved: Brian Sparks, real-estate administrator, told the council the parcel under contract is approximately 1.36 acres (APN 106-01-058A). Sparks said staff valued the parcel at $200,000 based on comparable sales and proposed a 30-day escrow. "This parcel . . . gives plenty of room for the fire station," Sparks said. Council then adopted an ordinance (recorded as ordinance number 2025-1907 during the meeting) authorizing the purchase.

Design and coverage goals: The fire chief told the council the package is the result of a multi-year planning effort and that the selected station locations would improve the number of address points reachable within a 0-to-4-minute travel time by about 10 percent, expanding the amount of real property protected within that coverage band. The chief described Station 76 as a new location at Sundog Ranch Road near Prescott Lakes Parkway, Station 73 as a relocation adjacent to the Constellation Trailhead near Route 89, and Station 72 as an existing location that needs modernization.

Procurement and costs: Public-works staff described a qualifications-based selection process for design services. Tim Sherwood said Pearlman Architects was selected from a competitive solicitation and recommended award of city contract 2026-098 in the amount of $2,427,218.13. Staff told council the design phase will include bringing a construction-manager-at-risk (CMAR) into the process near the 30 percent design milestone and that construction would likely begin about a year after design kickoff, with an expectation of shovel-in-the-ground roughly by late 2026 and about a two-year build timeline thereafter.

Council questions and conditions: Councilwoman Furworth asked whether the parcel should be annexed into the city before the capital investment; staff said contiguity and annexation processes could be addressed and that annexation would likely be feasible. Council members also pressed staff on the selection of some small subcontractors for landscaping and asked that plant pallets and submittals conform to Arizona Department of Water Resources guidance; public works staff said plant submittals would be required and noncompliant plants would not be approved.

Action details: Ordinance approving purchase and contract-related motion. Ordinance vote: 7-0. Pearlman design contract (city contract 2026-098) vote: 6-1.

Next steps: Close escrow on the purchased parcel, schedule the design kickoff, continue public-works coordination on traffic preemption and site access, and return to council with annexation recommendations if staff proceeds with annexation evaluations.