The future fire hall in the city's north end may not be a modular build as previously planned, as council is now asking for proposals for a standard brick-and-mortar design.
Last November, The Gazette reported that because of higher-than-expected land-servicing costs, city administration was moving forward with a modular build for Fire Hall #4, scheduled to open in 2025. On Jan. 10 council told administration to expand their search to include standard brick-and-mortar designs.
In an interview, Coun. Mike Killick said he's concerned St. Albert is unnecessarily following the lead of Calgary, which built a modular fire hall as a temporary solution for an under-serviced area in 2020, with plans to replace it with a permanent fire hall in the next few years. He wonders if a modular build is a good long-term investment.
"It was a quick fix to an urgent fire problem," Killick said of Calgary's one-bay modular fire station in the Walden neighbourhood. "Calgary is growing very fast in the south, so their time to respond was exceeding the nine-minute threshold."
"None of those situations are what St. Albert is facing," he said.
Fire Chief Everett Cooke told the standing committee of the whole in November a modular design would save the city an estimated $4.7 million in construction costs for the 2020-approved $16.3 million project, although administration said those savings would be offset by the land-servicing costs, as well as the price the city paid for the land kitty-corner to Costco on St. Albert trail.
During its Jan. 10 meeting, council passed a motion from Killick directing administration to seek proposals for a standard build, as well as a modular design. Administration will make a final decision later this year, or in 2024 when the city plans for construction to begin.
However, city spokesperson Nicole Lynch told The Gazette in November that St. Albert Fire Services were responding to calls in under nine minutes 80-83 per cent of the time in the north end of the city. The council-determined service level is arriving on the scene of a call in under nine minutes 90 per cent of the time.
"We have the opportunity to look at options and that's really what this is about," Killick said. "We want to do it right, it's a long-term investment, and we want to make sure that we're getting the best building for the investment of our taxpayers."
A standard brick-and-mortar fire hall would take longer to build compared to a modular fire hall, council heard during a Jan. 10 meeting, meaning that if a standard build is chosen, the fire hall may not open as planned in 2025.
Cost comparison
Administration is recommending continuing with the modular building plan, wrote city project managers Meridith Willacy and Tim Saunders in a backgrounder for the Jan. 10 meeting.
"Although a different approach to this type of project, the use of modular buildings has been growing recently due to their sustainable design, cost effectiveness, ability to control the construction environment and quick construction timeline," Willacy and Saunders said.
The backgrounder also includes an estimated cost comparison of the two building types. For a 6,500 square foot building with two truck bays and room for crew members, as planned for Fire Hall #4, administration says a modular building costs $900 per square foot, while a standard build could cost $2,400 per square foot.
In response to a question from Killick, Willacy said the $900 per square foot for a modular build was a quote supplied by a company engaged by the city as part of the planning process, and the $2,400 per square foot for a standard build was an estimate from the City of Calgary for replacing the current modular station.
"The cost certainty is expected to be stronger with modular versus [standard] build given the anticipated market condition in the near future," the backgrounder says.
Killick says he thinks the estimate for a standard build is substantially higher than what would eventually be proposed by companies looking to secure the contract.
"If that's what we're being charged or would be an estimate, to me that feels like we're being taken to the cleaners," Killick said.
"I hope to see a more realistic estimate for a traditional build," he said, adding, "I couldn't imagine that we would ever pay or any municipality would ever pay $2,400 a square foot for a fire hall."
Killick's motion passed, with only Coun. Natalie Joly opposed.
Joly said she isn't opposed to looking at an alternative to a modular build, but it is administration's job as planning experts to make the best choice.
"Certainly it is our responsibility to set that budget, which we've done, but the ultimate 'how' of achieving a particular goal I do want to leave to our staff, who are experts," Joly said.
Coun. Ken MacKay said he agrees with Joly, but voted in favour because administration will still make the final decision on build type.
"All this does is actually give them a bigger playing field," MacKay said. "This allows them to make that decision on their own and not be constrained if they found that one of them was better or worse."
