West Manatee Fire Rescue commissioners have engaged an architect to plan the rebuilding of Station No. 4, 407 67th St. W., Bradenton.
The commissioners voted 3-1 April 16 to engage the services of NDC Construction Company to draw up plans for the new building, on the site of the existing station. Chairman David Bishop recused himself from the vote as a potential conflict of interest and commissioner Al Robinson voted no.
According to the agreement, NDC Construction will complete three phases of design drawings from concept through construction blueprints, provide civil engineering and architectural drawings and have the plans approved for permit by Manatee County.
The $260,000 contract covers architectural fees, simple engineering costs and provides unlimited meetings and workshops with Deputy Chief Tom Sousa, who is overseeing the project, and the commissioners. The final product will include a budget with a guaranteed maximum price that the project is not to exceed. At that point, the commission will have to decide whether to move forward.
District accountant Randy Dillingham also appeared before commissioners at the meeting to discuss the annual financial audit. Dillingham reported finding no issues, calling the audit an “open and transparent process.” He said the district remains in a “good financial position,” with $319,000 in carry-over for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
During the meeting, Sousa introduced firefighter Jerrod Apple, a reservist recently hired full-time. Lt. Ben Rigney was recognized for his promotion to captain and training officer for the district. Battalion Chief Rich Losek and Sousa presented Lt. Paul Hopkins and Firefighter First-Class Chad Brunner with a citation award for exemplary performance stemming from their response to a 2014 traffic accident where they remove a trapped motorist from a vehicle.
In other business:
• WMFR passed its state fire marshal inspection with no issues reported.
• The commission approved a request to spend $23,306 in budgeted funds to replace outdated laptop computers and docking stations on rescue and battalion vehicles.
• Deputy Chief Brett Pollock reported to the commission a web-based company hired to collect data for records and the accreditation process had gone out of business. Pollock presented Stats FD as a potential replacement program.
• The commission approved a fire marshal job description presented by Sousa. He is expected to appoint a fire marshal by April 30. Previously, the fire marshal position was held by retiring Fire Chief Andy Price.
The next WMFR commission meeting will be 6 p.m., Thursday, May 21, at the administration building, 6417 Third Ave. W., Bradenton.