The new Roosevelt 3 Firehouse will again be the subject of a public hearing now that a revised site plan has been submitted.
The hearing, on Feb. 5 at 7pm in Town Hall, will be to review plan alterations so that revised bidding on the project can begin.
In September 2013, construction bids for the project came in too high for the bonding capability of the Fire Department, which caused the trustees of the Fire District to reduce the size of the building and make other adjustments in order to stay within the $4.4 million approved cap for the project.
The proposed station, at 830 Violet Ave., will replace the existing one, known as Station #3 and built in the 1950s, on Roosevelt Road. Voter approval for the project, and its cost, was received in a special vote by Roosevelt Fire District residents that was held prior to the bidding last year.
Consequently, the Fire District had to present its site plan alterations to the planning board at its Jan.8 meeting in order to move forward.
The project’s architect, Dennis Ross, from Pacheco Ross Architects, and Fire District attorney Richard Olsen, from the firm of McCabe & Mack, along with Chazen Company engineer Roger Keating, made a strong case for gaining approval from the planning board to expedite the process for re-bidding, which the Fire District expects to complete with the reopening of bids on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at the Roosevelt 2 Firehouse on Cream Street.
In his comments, Olsen indicated that the revised plan simply removed 10 parking spaces to a banked area so that there would be availability for future parking there if needed and that approximately 2,000 square feet less of constructed space would be used.
“Other than that,” he said, “no changes to the building design, composition or site plan” have been made.
Ross noted that the stone front and gabled roofs would be exactly the same as those approved last year.
“The only gable that is missing,” he said, “is a very small one on the rear of the building, and we have simplified the entrance.”
Other minor interior alterations to the original design were made that did not need planning board approval but are expected to help in the second round of bids.
Roosevelt Fire Department Building Chairman Lou Gallo emphasized to the Observer that the department hopes construction can start as soon as possible after the bids are opened.
“The only reason it failed last fall was due to the costs coming in over our allocation requirements,” he said.
In addition to the required public hearing, the Fire District must also receive approval from the Dutchess County Planning Board, which officials hoped would be in hand before the Feb. 5 meeting.
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