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Avon council hears $68M–$71M plan for three fire stations as architects stress firefighter health, training and recruitment
Summary
A Building Committee and Tecton Architects presented conceptual designs to renovate two Avon volunteer stations and construct a new third station. The opinion of probable costs totaled roughly $67.8M (simultaneous) or $70.5M if phased; Council asked for value-engineering and prioritized firefighter health and safety.
Jim Speich, chair of the Avon Volunteer Fire Department (AVFD) Building Committee, and principals from Tecton Architects presented conceptual designs Sept. 5 for renovating Company No. 1 and Company No. 4 and constructing a new Company No. 3. The consultants framed the proposal around firefighter health and safety, training capacity and long-term recruitment and retention.
"We are currently 100% volunteer," Speich said, urging designs that support volunteers and allow the department to remain mostly volunteer while providing operational flexibility. Principal Jeff McElravy outlined programming and site test fits for the three stations and emphasized modern design elements such as dedicated decontamination spaces, separate storage for turnout gear and expanded living/working quarters.
Tecton provided an opinion of probable cost based on conceptual designs and third-party estimating: Company No. 1 (addition/renovation) about $26.6 million, a new Company No. 3 about $29.9 million, and Company No. 4 renovation/addition about $11.3 million. The consultants summarized a simultaneous-build total of roughly $67.8 million and a phased-build total near $70.5 million.
"We are starting to see the crazy escalation on construction costs steadying out," McElravy said while acknowledging that estimators made many assumptions at the schematic stage. Rebecca Hopkins, the project manager, added that the estimates incorporate construction cost, project development and contingencies and that the team will work with the Building Committee to present options for cost reduction.
Council members probed comparative costs and potential savings. Chairman Polhamus said he was "skeptical that we would ever be able to get a phased, total project cost of $70,546,000 passed" and asked the committee to reconcile the new estimates with a prior CGR study that had a much lower figure for a new Company No. 3 and renovations to Company No. 1. Council also asked staff and the committee to prioritize health-and-safety items and present value-engineering options so the Town can evaluate bonding and debt-service impacts.
Fire Chief Bruce Appell described operational needs that drive the design. He noted a pilot program putting crews in stations during high-demand hours and stressed that improved living quarters and response-ready transition zones shorten response time and help retention. The committee outlined a phasing recommendation (build Company No. 3 first, then renovate Company No. 1, then renovate Company No. 4), and agreed to bring prioritized, lower-cost alternatives for Council review.
The committee and architect team committed to further cost-refinement and to provide comparisons to recent nearby projects so the Council can better assess scope, cost and schedule implications. The Council did not take a formal vote to approve funding at the meeting; it directed next steps for prioritization, value engineering and debt modeling.
