Money for fire station work is just the beginning

The $24,670 in Saukville Fire Station work the Village Board signed off on last week will prepare the building for the Ozaukee Central Fire Department’s start next month, but almost $3 million in renovations remain, Fire Chief Bill Rice said.

The work approved by the board will divide a room at the fire station and rearrange the HVAC and electrical systems as the Saukville and Grafton fire departments merge.

The room will become two bedrooms, which along with the converted chief’s office, will provide adequate sleeping quarters for the station’s three full-time firefighters budgeted for next year.

Rice said the work was immediately necessary “unless we want to have people on the floor.”

However, he said, more is needed.

“This is temporary because we need more than three rooms,” Rice said. “It is to address the gap between now and when a larger project is approved.”

He said the Saukville station will often have more than three firefighters staying a night.

Village documents state an addition is needed to make room for EMS ride-alongs and other job training.

A study conducted by Zimmerman Architectural Studios estimated it would cost $3 million to build an addition for additional bedrooms at the station and upgrade its kitchen.

The work at both the Grafton and Saukville stations was estimated at $8 million.

Rice said the estimate was to address all needs identified by Zimmerman and should be viewed as the maximum amount the work could cost.

“Once we get a plan in place, we will scrutinize that more carefully,” he said.

Both buildings are well-built, Rice said. The Saukville station was built in 1998.

At a Fire Board meeting in October, Rice said the $8 million project will be the OCFD’s first major hurdle.

“These are some big dark clouds we will need to create a plan for,” he said. “Somewhere soon this board will have to come up with a plan and then go back to the village and town boards. But this is not something we can kick down the road.”

At that meeting, the OCFD Fire Board approved 25 full-time department positions, three of which will be phased in next year.

Rice emphasized that full-time staff are not replacing volunteers.

“They are still needed and wanted and they will be relied upon heavily,” he said.

The $24,670 came out of the village’s fire department reserve fund, which currently has about $101,000. In January, the fund will be transferred to the OCFD.

The work is contracted to Cottrell Construction. The village bid the project to two other companies that both said they couldn’t complete the work by next month.