New Castle Fire District Goes Out to Bid for Firehouse Expansion Project
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A year after voters approved a $15.2 million expansion and modernization project for the New Castle firehouse, the Board of Commissioners is accepting bids for the work.
Board Chairman Dwight Smith said last week that New Castle Fire District No. 1 officials have had discussions with the architect and design team as well as legal counsel and will move forward with the most recent drawings. A final set of drawings is going out to the bidders, Smith said.
On the morning of Monday, May 6, the commissioners will allow bidders to visit the existing facility.
“There will be a walk-through so they can see what they’re bidding on and what the lay of the land is, so to speak, and what they are expecting to build,” Smith said.
Bids are due by Monday, May 20 at 5:50 p.m. Fire district officials will then open the bids that have come in at 6 p.m.
Last April, voters comfortably approved borrowing up to $15.2 million for a 13,000-square-foot addition with three new bays at the firehouse at King Street and Route 120 in Chappaqua. The modern apparatus barely fits in the current facility, which was originally built in 1954 before expanding to 17,000 square feet in 1979.
Another feature of the project would be the ability to decontaminate firefighters’ gear from carcinogens and other toxins after they return from a fire. The expanded firehouse should also provide the firefighters with more room between trucks when they rush out on a call.
At last weeks’ Board of Commissioners meeting, there was no explanation provided why it has taken the district a year to get to the point of Originally, it was hoped that construction could have started before the end of last year or by this spring.
Commissioners are holding a special meeting on the project at the firehouse on Monday, May 13 at 6 p.m.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
