WELLINGTON FIRE DISTRICT
WELLINGTON FIRE DISTRICT
2020 Planned Station #2
Expansion Project
By: Chief Mike Wetherbee
For years now there have been thoughts, ideas, and a need of adding on to Wellington Fire District’s station #2. A final concept review and approval of the Board came on December 4, 2019. The district chose to contract with Poggemeyer Design Group of Bowling Green Ohio to advise and oversee all facits of the construction process from the Request for Qualifications up to project completion. The RFQ went out on December 5th, it required that all RFQs be submitted no later than December 20, 2019. A tentative timeline had the district choosing a builder in January and breaking ground in late March of 2020, anticipating a late summer to early fall completion date. A zoning variation and a parcel combination had to be approved as well. This was an aggressive figure, and as you will see, the project got a later start than expected.
The district received requests for qualifications from Janotta & Herner, Infinity Construction, Telemon Construction, Simonson Construction, and Star Builders. A date was set for a meeting in which each builder could present their qualifications. A deadline of February 7, 2020 was set for all interested builders to submit bid proposals. Proposals were received by, and reviewed extensively with Janotta & Herner and Star Builders. After a review of proposals, the Board elected to go with Star Builders of Amherst Ohio. Print work began and a final contract was signed on June 10, 2020, at a total cost of $1,146,317.00. In the meantime, the district was working to re-plat multiple parcels into one, and through a variance process to zone the property CB-1.
After an exhausting process, the groundwork began on July 22, 2020. By mid- August, all the groundwork was done, footers and columns were poured, and blockwork began. Underground plumbing began the first of September and was backfilled and prepped for concrete. The floor was poured the week of September 14th, and the structural components arrived on the 15th. Siding work on the existing station was started while concrete was curing. By the end of September, storm, sanitary, and water taps were installed by the Village and all structural components were laid out, with two bays built. Early October saw the Village removing trees and beginning to build the electrical infrastructure to supply the 400amp transformer. Storm water work was completed in October, tying in all downspouts, yard, and trench drains, and directing it to the retention pond. The apron on the Johns Street side was prepped and poured by the end of October, and roof work began.
As the project entered November, the roof work continued, and blockwork on the interior offices and locker rooms began. By the middle of the month the interior blockwork was completed and work began on the firewall between the existing station and the new expansion. As the masonry contractors were laying block, crews from Star were putting the exterior walls on. By early December, all block walls had been core-filled, the I-beam and steal decking had been installed above the office and locker room areas and the 4 inch concrete roof deck was poured over the offices and locker rooms. Work on the connector building where the lobby will be was started. Walls and roof was constructed and interior work began. The garage doors were installed and the building was heated. By the end of December and through the holidays, the painters came in and sprayed all of the structural components and sealed and painted all block walls to finish color.
The first of the year saw interior work being performed by all of the sub-contractors, this included electric, Heating and air-conditioning, and plumbing. As interior work was being done, Star crews continued work on the outside of the building including installing facia, soffit, and gutters. Currently in mid-January, the building has electric, water, gas and drywall work is beginning. At the construction meeting held on January 13, the contractor stated that a finish date of February 1st is anticipated.
Mid-build..
...after build!
The new building will consist of 4 bays, a conference room, one office, a lobby, and men’s and women’s bath/locker/shower rooms. One bay in the station will be utilized solely for cleaning and decontamination of gear and equipment after returning from incidents. CARES Act funding, sub-granted to the fire district will help supplement our cleaning and drying equipment with new and additional appliances. It is our intention to maintain a cleaner, safer work environment for our personnel by being able to better organize our facilities.
Considerable planning has gone into this project to ensure we are getting the facilities we need without adding needless costs. The Wellington Fire District benefits from the generous support of our taxpayers, and is appreciative to have the ability to maintain and upgrade the district’s facilities while still maintaining financial stability.
