Joey Oliver
mlive.com
(TNS)
BAY CITY, MI – One of Bay City’s commissioners wants to apply a target timeline and deadline for a previously-approved resolution to obtain bids and potential funding sources for roof and interior repairs at the currently defunct Fire Station 5.
Bay City’s 8th Ward Commissioner Joseph Charlebois proposed the resolution, which builds upon the March 3 resolution that required city manager Dana Muscott to obtain bids and potential funding sources for repairs at Fire Station 5.
Charlebois’ resolution, which appears on the Monday, May 5, agenda, aims to direct Muscott to establish a timeline that would provide commissioners access to the completed bids no later than Aug. 15.
It also directs Muscott to provide a report to the commission to include further updates and progress reports on the process.
Read more: Here’s what Bay City officials say it would take to reopen Fire Station 5
Officials previously said it would cost more than $386,000 in renovation and repairs to reopen Fire Station 5 in Bay City’s Banks District, and the price of adding personnel to staff the station would cost the city more than twice that number.
Bay City Department of Public Safety Director Caleb Rowell previously told city commissioners it would cost the city a projected $386,318 for high- and medium-priority repairs on Fire Station 5, 1299 Smith St., and adding the personnel to reopen the fire station would cost the city approximately $1.6 million the first year. That cost would increase to about $2 million by year three.
Related: Plagued by black mold and pungent odor, Bay City fire station’s future is uncertain
Fire Station 5, built in 1965, closed on July 15, leaving the city with two fire stations on the east side of the river and one on the city’s West Side.
The closure was due, in part, to the poor conditions the building is in, officials said previously. It also comes down to money.
Prioritizing maintenance projects means some get done while others cannot. Other fire stations in the city have their own infrastructure issues, and one of them has problems with PFAS contamination.
Call volume was also taken into consideration when deciding which fixes to make. Station 5, officials previously said, has always had the lowest call volume among the city’s fire facilities.
Rowell said roof repairs, asbestos abatement, mold and mildew removal and plumbing are among high priorities required to make Fire Station 5 operational again. Medium-level concerns include concrete repairs and carpet removal.
A vote is expected on Charlebois’ resolution Monday evening. The meeting will be livestreamed here. The agenda is available here.
Want more Bay City- and Saginaw-area news? Bookmark the local Bay City and Saginaw news page or sign up for the free “3@3″ daily newsletter for Bay City and