Groundbreaking on Signal Mountain's newest fire hall will have to wait a bit longer.
The Signal Mountain Town Council has instructed local architectural firm Allen & Hoshall to redesign its preliminary plans for the town's second fire station.
The decision was made after cost estimates for the firm's design came in at twice the amount the council had originally anticipated to spend on the new station.
When council members began the planning process for the new fire station in 2015, their target budget for the project was $1.5 million. Based on ever-rising construction costs and pricing experience garnered during construction of the town's new Public Works facility, however, the contract with Allen & Hoshall was set at $2 million as a precaution, said Town Manager Boyd Veal.
When the designs were initially presented to the council Nov. 3, Signal Mountain Fire Department officials said they expected construction costs would fall around $1.9 million, but more definitive cost estimates have since put the design at $3 million.
That figure does not include the $620,000 needed for a new fire engine, the $500,000 required annually for staffing, or the $60,000 that will be necessary for furnishings like beds, chairs and kitchen utensils.
The $3 million cost estimate comes in part as a result of the site on which the fire station will sit, said David Bryant, a senior architect for Allen & Hoshall. The location is on a slope, which has made wastewater disposal an expensive issue to plan for. The current design calls for retaining walls reinforced by steel.
"That's not something you normally do, but it's important," Bryant said.
Before bringing the matter to the council, Veal and Fire Department Chief Eric Mitchell worked with the architectural firm to trim down the facility's design, reducing square footage, and thus reducing costs. The goal was to fashion a new preliminary design that would meet all of the town's requirements yet still be in line with the council's originally anticipated budget.
Veal said he and the other officials looked for elements in the initial design that could be removed or made more efficient without negatively affecting the overall functionality of the building's space. Some of those changes include moving a fitness area, replacing a full kitchen with a kitchenette containing a microwave and fridge, and eliminating storage rooms by adding racks or mezzanines to hold equipment in previously unused space.
The fire station will still be capable of housing six firefighters, and the bay size will not change. Both elements will accommodate the growth coming to the station's coverage area, allowing more firefighters and a second fire engine to be added once additional homes are built.
"All the things we wanted to do - make sure we're not building something that we're going to outgrow in 20 years - is still there," Veal said. "It's still going to be a long-term, functional facility. We just found a lot more efficiencies and, I think, frankly, cleaned up the design a little bit."
Bryant said the redesigned station would be approximately 10,000 square feet. It was originally designed to be just under 12,000 square feet.
Despite the changes, the new station will still capture the look of the old fire hall and fit into the town's aesthetics, which Veal said did not have a large impact on the cost.
Bryant said it would take the architectural firm about a month to redesign the plans. He added that redesigning is Allen & Hoshall's obligation and will be done at no cost to the town.