Alameda council adopts facilities plan outlining $342 million of long-term upgrades

The Alameda City Council voted unanimously July 7 to accept a city facilities plan that identifies aging fire stations, a failing animal shelter, fleet and maintenance yards, and other municipal facilities that staff says need modernization or relocation.

Assistant City Manager Amy Wooldridge told the council the plan — created with RRM consultants and reviewed by cost estimators — focuses on fire stations 1, 2, 4 and 5, fire administration, the fire training facility, fleet services, maintenance service center, a recreation and parks yard and the animal shelter. “These specific facilities were existing, very aging, outdated facilities that don't meet current professional or seismic standards,” Wooldridge said during the presentation. Staff presented a consolidated cost estimate of approximately $342,400,000 (in 2029 construction dollars, including escalation and soft costs).

The plan offers a mix of strategies: short-term interim solutions such as modular buildings, mid-term remodels and long-term site relocations or new construction. Chief Nick Luby emphasized seismic and operational deficiencies at several stations, noting modern decontamination corridors, apparatus bays and seismic upgrades are needed to maintain response capacity. “Station 1 is small in size, does not meet modern standards for decontamination or storage,” Luby said, describing mold and other problems at older stations.

Councilmember questions focused on the animal shelter (an “F” rating in the report), sequencing of projects, and how the plan intersects with an upcoming bond proposal. Wooldridge and city staff said the plan is a framework, not policy, and that specific projects, schedules and funding decisions would come back to council on a project-by-project basis and as part of the city’s capital-improvement programming. The council approved a motion to accept the plan, with Councilmember Bowler moving and Vice Mayor Pryor seconding the motion.