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A rendering of Fire Station 4. Fire Station 2 will look very similar to the rendering, according to Interim Director of Public Safety Chase Stapp. Photo courtesy of the City of San Marcos

New San Marcos fire stations see potential cost increase

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Two new fire stations in San Marcos will cost more than originally anticipated. 

In May of 2017, voters approved a bond project allowing the relocation of the existing Fire Station 2 to a more suitable site as well as the design and construction of a new Fire Station 6. 

According to Interim Director of Public Safety Chase Stapp, the cost of construction of Fire Station 2 has escalated significantly — about 17.4% — since the station was planned. 

Last week, the San Marcos City Council voted 5-2 to amend to the design-build agreement between the city and Flintco, LLC — the design build firm for the project — setting the final guaranteed maximum price for the construction of the new Fire Station No. 2 in the amount of $5,367,405. Councilmember Ed Mihalkanin and councilmember Joca Marquez were the two dissenters. 

The fire station will be relocated to the La Cima development following a land donation from the developers as part of the development agreement with La Cima. 

“A station location study conducted in 2014 by Mike Peach Consultants determined the ideal location for a new station 2 to be at the intersection of Wonder World Drive and Old Ranch Road 12,” Stapp said. “A site was identified within the La Cima neighborhood that meets the criteria set forth in this study and eliminates the extreme coverage overlap that exists currently between Station 1, the downtown station and the current Station 2.” 

The La Cima site is located over the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, which will require extensive site preparation work and an estimated $250,000 increase in cost, Stapp said. 

However, city staff and Jacobs Project Management Company, the city’s bond program manager, found ways to reduce the overall cost of the station by about $250,750.  

The increase in the price of the station will be covered by interest earnings on bonds that were sold early, according to Stapp. 

“Essentially the bonds were sold early and placed in secure investment funds and have been earning interest since that time and not being used and so there is capacity to cover this overage,” Stapp said. 

According to Fire Chief Les Stephens, the city has already spent over $500,000 on the La Cima site. 

“Between what we paid Jacobs as our owners (representative) and what we have paid Flintco and WestEast, the architect, we are in excess of half a million dollars altogether,” Stephens said. “Just over ($200,000) to Jacobs and about ($365,000) to Flintco and WestEast. That doesn’t include the staff time and the workup that’s been done over the past four years to bring this to this point.” 

Before voting on amendments to Station 2’s final price, some council members expressed concern with the way the bond project has unfolded. 

Mihalkanin, who ultimately voted against the change in price, said he thought the “entire process was rushed.” 

“The bond report was given to us the same day that we were told flatly that we had to give direction to staff to have a May 2017 election,” he said. “This is November 2019 so it seems to me we didn’t have to have a May 2017 election. There were substantial cost overruns. There’s much more money that it was going to cost and I do appreciate the outside firms that worked really well with our city staff to find cost savings but that tells me that it wasn’t thought through properly when it was presented.”

Mayor Jane Hughson said she shares Mihalkanin’s concerns.

“I think that when we went to vote I think there were some pieces missing when we voted for the bond and then we didn’t get on it as soon as the bond was voted on,” Hughson said. “I think I mentioned before that the Hays School District passed a bond the same day we did and opened their $100 million high school in August, but - I’m not happy about a whole lot of the way this stuff went, but I’m not going to vote against this fire station.” 

Council voted 5-2 to approve the amendment to the guaranteed maximum price for the construction of the new Fire Station No. 2. 

The other station approved by voters in the 2017 bond election — a new Fire Station 6 — will also come in over budget. 

“Based upon the current level of construction cost escalation, this project is currently estimated to come in about $800,000 over budget, over the original estimated budget,” Stapp said. “Much like Station 2, finance believes that interest earnings on bonds will be able to cover that gap when the construction actually commences.”

Council unanimously agreed to allow staff to move forward with Station 6,  which will be located on a parcel of donated land within the Trace subdivision, during their work session.

San Marcos Record

(512) 392-2458
P.O. Box 1109, San Marcos, TX 78666