Nicole Ronchetti
The Bemidji Pioneer, Minn.
(TNS)

Jan. 31—BEMIDJI — The Bemidji City Council heard a report on the future of city hall and the fire station during its meeting on Monday, which included six options ranging in cost from $23 to $26 million.

Conversations on the buildings’ future began last spring, after the lower levels of city hall flooded in late April 2022.

The following inspection revealed several other concerns related to drainage, including issues with the roof and foundation.

Presented with these problems, the city council agreed to conduct an evaluation of its options, which included remodeling the building or constructing a new Bemidji City Hall.

The Bemidji Fire Department, which had previously raised concerns about the fire station’s aging conditions and lack of adequate space, asked to also be included in the evaluation.

Wold Architects and Engineers was brought in to conduct the study and after nine months of interviews and planning, two representatives gave a report to the council on its options.

“This is at a good inflection point for the project,” said John McNamara, a partner at Wold. “(We’re) really thinking through what the long-term needs for the city are.”

McNamara and Wold architect Paige Sullivan presented the council members with six options for them to consider, all of which included remodeling or reconstructing both buildings.

Each of the options would increase the space in the buildings, increasing city hall from around 12,000 square feet to 18,000 and the fire station from 10,000 to 24,000 square feet.

“There really is no space left,” McNamara explained, outlining the lack of usable space for offices, storage and other key functions. “That’s something that needs to be addressed.”

Option 1, which was the only alternative that would remodel the existing buildings, would renovate some of the existing spaces and add significant additions to both city hall and the fire station.

The construction of this option would cost an estimated $23,206,000, but it would also require the purchase and demolition of the First National Bank branch, which currently exists on the same block as both municipal buildings. These costs were not included in the estimate.

Options 2 and 3 similarly would require the demolition of the bank, the cost of which was also not included in the estimates of $26,028,000 for either option.

Unlike Option 1, both of these options would create an entirely new combined facility for city hall and the fire station and construction would be done in phases.

Options 4a and 4b were both created with designs that would allow for the continued existence of the neighboring bank, and similarly would create a new combined facility. The cost estimates for both options come in at $26 million.

Both 4a and 4b could be constructed in phases to allow for as much continued operation of the current buildings as possible.

“That’s why we wanted to include options here that would allow a phased approach,” McNamara shared.

The final alternative presented to the council, Option 5, would construct entirely new facilities on a separate site at the estimated cost of $25.5 million. This estimate assumes the use of land the city already owns.

While all of these cost estimates, barring some expenses that were not included, fell within a similar range, one of the first things acknowledged by the council was the cost of the project.

“That’s a lot of money that comes from the taxpayer, one way or another,” said Mayor Jorge Prince, who explained that Bemidji is already facing large government projects from the county and school district.

Ward 4 Coun

Shayla Escudero
Albany Democrat-Herald, Ore.
(TNS)

Jan. 30—A piece of Albany history is out for public viewing after being hidden away for 20 years.

The restoration of the 1925 Seagrave engine was an arduous process that took gallons of paint and even more patience.

Inside what was once the old museum at Fire Station 12, Larry Allen and Brian Vorderstrasse put the finishing touches on the fire engine.

The room smells of cleaning agents and gasoline. Paint brushes, rags, measuring tape, stencils and toolboxes with wrenches pool over the tables and onto the ground of their workstation.

The fire engine sits proudly, commanding space in the small museum-turned-workshop. For the past three years the two retired firefighters have worked to restore the engine to its glory.

“It’s important because it’s preserving history,” said Vorderstrasse, sporting orange gloves and a shirt splattered with grease.

He likes to work on old cars in his free time — one of his latest projects is a 1966 Mustang, he said. Meanwhile, Allen brings his experience in woodworking to the table. Or the rig.

The truck came to Albany from Massachusetts decades ago as a replacement for an emergency vehicle whose engine had blown up, Vorderstrasse said. That’s why it’s Albany only Seagrave-manufactured engine, he said.

But the workhorse has been out of use for more than 50 years and stored away for 20.

When the pair started the restoration, the whole engine was covered in rust, Allen said, sharing a picture showing the engine orange with rust as proof. They had to sand it down before the engine got its fresh color.

Getting all the necessary parts was the most difficult part of the process, Vorderstrasse said. But equally challenging was nailing all the little details of the paint job. That’s what really took so long, he said.

In between the paint thinner and cotton balls, old black-and-white photographs depicting the engine in the 1930s are scattered the table.

“Those were the best pictures we got,” Allen said. One of them was an archival photo from the Democrat-Herald.

Without much to go off of, Vorderstrasse said some creative liberties were taken. Local artist Bob Johnson went through several drafts before the final design for the ornate gold leafing, Vorderstrasse said.

Originally, there were depictions of a cabin in the woods, but the restoration team felt it was important to add signifiers that made the engine feel like Albany.

One of the images depicts the waterfront bridge with a steamboat on the water and a train chugging over the bridge. On the other side is the historic Monteith House.

In the last year the two figure they put 1,500 hours into the project, Allen said.

He poured a large container of gasoline into the vehicle before starting the vehicle. The sound, resonating in the small room, almost made it feel like the room was shaking.

The 1925 engine has leather seating for two and an open front with no windshield and a large bell fastened to the top. It’s a stark contrast from fire trucks today, with all the technology and space, Allen said.

“It feels good to have it done,” he said. But for Allen, it’s on to the next project: a 1944 fire engine. The war-era vehicle is collecting dust in storage, but he soon hopes that it too, will be on display.

The 1925 Seagrave engine now can be found in downtown Albany at 110 SE Sixth Ave.

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