Trenton council approves about $16.7 million in subcontractor awards for new police and fire stations

The Trenton City Council on Feb. 17 approved subcontractor awards and authorized staff to finalize agreements for the construction of a new fire station and a new police station, covering roughly $16.68 million in subcontract packages.

City Administrator Mr. Creech told the council the recommended awards, vetted and tabulated by VIG company, total approximately $8,713,406 for the fire station and $7,963,603 for the police station. He said those packages represent about two‑thirds of the total bid work and that a second set of bid packages will be presented at the March 23 council meeting to complete remaining scopes. “We don’t have to — the vetting of these, the references, the tabulation… is handled by VIG company,” Creech said, noting the city hired VIG to assemble and qualify bids.

The vote to approve and authorize final contract execution carried unanimously. During discussion, Councilman Caballano noted many of the same subcontractors appear on both project bid tabs and asked whether that could create warranty or service issues if a single firm provided work for both buildings. “I noticed that a majority of the contractors are the same…is that any concern that you’re going to have one vendor providing service and maybe from a warranty standpoint at, like, say, the police station versus the fire station?” Caballano asked.

Creech replied the sites are separate and he did not foresee site‑to‑site warranty conflicts: “We’re just gonna — if there’s a warranty or defect issue, then we’re gonna have to deal with one versus the other…I don’t think it’s an issue,” he said.

Creech also told the council several bids required rebidding and that the remaining components and any small 'odds and ends' will be finalized at the March 23 meeting. The council’s approval authorizes staff to finalize agreements and execute contracts consistent with the recommended subcontractor list.

The council did not identify individual firms by vote tally during the public motion; Creech said VIG performed the tabulation and qualification work and presented the recommendations.

The next project milestone is the return of additional bid packages to council on March 23, when staff expects to present the remaining subcontract recommendations and any finalized total pricing for the two stations.