The Seminole City Council voted unanimously Oct. 13 to approve a $5.9 million contract with NDC Construction Co. to build a new fire station in the Bay Pines area. The council then split 4-3 over an optional roof feature that adds $16,545 to the bill.

Fire Station 74 will be a 7,316-square-foot, two-bay building on city-owned land along 100th Avenue near Bay Pines Boulevard, next to the Walmart shopping center. The shopping center’s developer gave the parcel to the city years ago under a development agreement that also requires any building there to match the surrounding area. The new station will replace an older one across the street.

Mayor Leslie Waters described the building as a former church that has been repainted many times and patched up. City leaders say it no longer meets a modern fire department’s needs.

NDC’s bid came in about $600,000 below the project’s $6.5 million pre-bid engineering estimate. Under a longstanding agreement, Seminole and Pinellas County split the cost of site work and construction, with the county covering most of it. City Manager Ann Toney-Deal told the council the final split is roughly 70/30 in the county’s favor and that the package fits within both governments’ budgets. The city must still finalize its funding agreement with the county before construction begins.

Toney-Deal also put the contractor on notice about change orders, the mid-project cost add-ons that often push public building costs past the original price. She said she will make her position clear in her first meeting with the winning firm, and that a contractor “really” needs a compelling case to get one approved.

The contract process drew 14 contractors to a mandatory pre-bid meeting. Bidders had to be state-certified building contractors and post a bid bond equal to 5 percent of their bid. A city review committee chose NDC for its low base price, strong references, experienced project managers, and record of avoiding cost overruns. The city is not seeking LEED green-building certification for the station.

The night’s only real debate was about style. The station will be built in the Mediterranean Revival style, with sloped roofs of durable material made to resemble tile, arched windows and matching walls, meant to blend with the neighboring shops and the two-story townhomes behind the site. The council weighed two optional dormers at $16,545 each, one over the front entrance and one on the back facing the townhomes.

Toney-Deal recommended the front dormer so the station looks less like a plain government building. Councilor Thom Barnhorn agreed, saying it fits the neighborhood. Councilor Al Sheilds said he did not see the benefit and preferred the cleaner roofline. Vice Mayor Chris Burke raised hurricane concerns, saying anything that changes the roof outline and can catch wind is a worry. City staff said the design meets all local building codes for hurricane-force winds. The council approved the front dormer 4-3 and dropped the rear one.

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