Apopka Fire Station #5 breaking ground this month

The Apopka City Council voted 5-0 at its Wednesday meeting to approve the contract for the Apopka Fire Station #5 project. The new station is in Northwest Apopka, intersects Jason Dwelley Parkway, and will serve the residents and businesses north of Ponkan Road. That area is currently served by Fire Station #2.

"This should greatly reduce response times," Apopka Fire Department Chief Charles Carnesale said at a workshop meeting back in March.

According to the Agenda Packet provided by City Staff for the July 5th City Council meeting, the City Council approved a preconstruction services contract with Miller Construction Management, Inc. in November of 2016 to provide value engineering and other cost saving services to finalize the design of the Fire Station #5 project. The City Staff completed the design and has negotiated with the Miller Construction team to perform Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) services at a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) for this project. The GMP for the Fire Station project shall not exceed $1,614,800. Any changes not requested by the City, or any pricing increases, shall be the financial responsibility of Miller Construction. Any savings realized during construction will be returned to the City.

Fire Station #5 will be approximately 7,500 square feet and will include a living/sleeping area for six firefighters and a District Chief. It will have four parking bays that can hold two ambulances, a fire truck, a brush truck, a rescue squad, and a District Chief vehicle.

Funding to complete the project amounting to $580,790 was approved in the Fiscal Year 2017/18 budget by the unanimous vote of Council. This amount, along with the $1,034,010 already allocated from previous budgets, will complete the funding. A 10% contingency is included in the budget for items the City will be providing.

This amount, along with the $1,034,010 already allocated from previous budgets, will complete the funding. A 10% contingency will be included in the budget for items the City will be providing.

The contract time is measured from the date of commencement and Miller Construction Management, Inc. shall achieve substantial completion of the entire work not later than 182 days from the time of commencement.

According to Carnesale, the project will break ground in the next 10-20 days.

"We have a completion date of January 2018 listed," he said. "But Miller Construction thinks we can finish by November or December of this year."

Fire Station #5 will be approximately 7,500 square feet and will include a living/sleeping area for six firefighters and a District Chief. It will have four parking bays that can hold two ambulances, a fire truck, a brush truck, a rescue squad, and a District Chief vehicle, according to Carnesale. It is the first fire station built for the AFD in 12 years.