Aransas Pass approves $8.582 million police and fire station renovation; council also OKs HVAC financing and other measures

The Aransas Pass City Council on June 2 approved a package of actions to upgrade public-safety facilities and address urgent city facilities needs.

The council voted to award the request for proposals for the police and fire station renovation to Victory Building Team, accepting the lowest qualified bid and three alternates — a roof replacement for $280,000, a parking-lot seal coat for $25,000 and bay exhaust for $87,000 — for a total project cost of $8,582,000. The city said seven bids were received and the project timeline is roughly 487 days.

"We received a total of seven bids," the city explained during presentation, "and after review they recommended that we award the bid to Victory Building Team which is the lowest qualified bidder." The recommendation came after the city's engineer reviewed bid results.

Council members questioned how the bids compared to prior cost projections and contingency planning. Staff said the project's base bids came in about $300,000 above the most recent engineer projection for the base scope but some alternates were lower than estimated. The city explained that the project includes a contingency for unforeseen conditions; the contingency funds remain with the city if not used.

Fire Department leadership urged council to consider including an additional bay extension to protect new apparatus from the elements. The fire chief said the extension would add capacity and allow the department to house more vehicles indoors.

Council then approved the contract by voice vote.

In related business, the council authorized a three-year capital lease with Government Capital Corporation to finance replacement of a failing HVAC system at city hall. Staff said one unit has started leaking and repairs have caused interior damage; given the timing and the approaching summer, council members agreed to proceed with the financing rather than delay the work while soliciting full competitive bids. The financing carries an interest rate in the vicinity of 5.3% and the city manager was designated as authorized signer for the documents.

The council also approved a request to continue participation in the Law Enforcement Support Office (LISO) program (formerly the Department of Defense 1033 program) so the police department can retain previously allocated equipment; accepted a $25,000 Texas A&M Forest Service grant for personal protective equipment for the fire department (with a 5% departmental match); and approved a one-year agreement with Aayoka (AOA) Engineering for building department backup inspections, plan reviews and flood-plain review on an as-needed basis.

All of the listed items were approved by the council in the same meeting; where votes were recorded it was by voice and the motions carried.