Richardson staff recommend $13.13 million from 2026 bond to begin three fire projects; other facility work slated for later funding

City facilities staff briefed the Richardson City Council on recommended projects proposed for the city’s 2026 bond program, saying the package will target immediate safety and operational needs while some lower-priority items will be scheduled for alternate funding.

Wayne Quorum, director of Facilities and Fleet, outlined the recommended projects and costs: a Fire Apparatus Building behind Fire Station 5 to store reserve units ($8,500,000), renovations at Fire Station 6 including fitness and day-room additions plus generator replacement ($2,100,000), and early-phase design for a new Fire Station 7 that would house a HAZMAT unit and improve response times (total station cost estimated at $25,800,000 with initial $13,130,000 requested for the three fire projects). Quorum also listed non-fire projects including service-center yard and fuel-island work ($2,640,000), Municipal Court HVAC replacement ($1,280,000), rec-center repairs (approximately $2,600,000), and detention-center cell and Sally Port repairs ($2,250,000). He said the facilities condition assessment prioritized items scored “D” for immediate attention.

"This is our final deep dive," Quorum said during the presentation, and described the projects as derived from condition assessments, facility master plans and work-order histories. He told council members that the combined facility need was approximately $45,170,000 citywide and that staff recommended funding $13,130,000 now for the three fire-related items while proposing alternate funding approaches for the remaining $8,770,000 in unfunded facility items.

Council members pressed staff on two risk areas: deferred roof replacements and underground fuel-tank regulatory compliance. Mayor Pro Tem Huichtenreiter said deferring roof work could leave chronically leaking roofs in place for years; Quorum replied staff would propose responsive funding options next week and that some urgent maintenance continues to be done from the facilities maintenance budget. On fuel tanks Quorum cited Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) regulatory concerns and said staff plan to replace underground tanks with aboveground storage where feasible.

On the detention center, Quorum said the problem is substructure and drainage at the Sally Port rather than a roof-only issue, and noted interim patching has been used while staff evaluate permanent solutions. He estimated the Sally Port and cell renovation needs at $2.25 million.

Next steps and schedule provided by staff: a refinement presentation on the full bond package next week, a public hearing on Jan. 5, 2026, another public hearing on Jan. 12, 2026, and a recommended call for a bond election in February to place measures on a May election date. Staff said they would return with alternate funding strategies for items not currently proposed for bond funding.

Why it matters: the recommended bond funding would address several immediate safety and operational risks (fire apparatus storage and station upgrades, detention-center repairs) while leaving other facility needs to be prioritized or funded through alternate sources. Councilmembers repeatedly asked staff to return with concrete mitigation plans for deferred items and TCEQ-exposed fuel systems.

The council did not take a vote on the bond recommendation during the briefing; staff will return with a refined proposal and formal actions at later meetings.