Atkins Fire Station plans on hold as council members fail to agree on construction contract

Lina Portman3 weeks ago

3 1 minute read

ATKINS, Iowa (KCRG) – Plans to replace the Atkins Fire Station, which was destroyed in the 2020 derecho, are now on hold after city council members were unable to agree on the opportunity to authorize further revisions to the project.

For four years, firefighters have had to use a maintenance building as a temporary station and store their equipment throughout the city.

Plans were in place for a new 15,282 square foot station that would be built next to City Hall and cost approximately $6,000,000.

The city had entered into a $206,500 contract with Solum Lang Architects, LLC for construction.

At Tuesday's city council meeting, members discussed revisions to the design that would increase the cost by about $40,000, for a total contract amount of $246,300.

According to city documents, the design requires revisions to the fire station design to accommodate the expansion of the existing City Hall parking lot, which the station would share. The revisions would have made adjustments to the architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and civil engineering design of the station.

However, council members could not agree on whether to move forward with the revisions. One council member expressed concern that the revisions could further delay the project.

The city says without a new fire station, the growing community could see insurance rates increase.

The fire station is the final part of the city's rebuilding efforts after the derecho.