By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

CASCO — Some people might be seeing red when they heard how much green is required for a future fire station.

However, one resident expressed the importance of having sound infrastructure that allows people to do their jobs effectively. Part of that is planning financially for those capital improvements.

At the beginning of this month, Casco residents heard the cost estimates for two options — build new or renovate — from the team that produced a long-range report about the needs of the Casco Fire and Rescue Department.

Port City Architecture Principal Andrew “Andy” Hyland revealed the costs to renovate central station or to build a new station. This happened during the Casco Select Board meeting on April 2.

The square footage requirement for the proposed station is 18,650 square feet; and the estimated cost is $550 a square foot, according to Hyland.

Renovation, which would require adding 9,000 square feet to the existing building, came in at $8.5 million. Meanwhile, build new would cost $7.8 million, he said.

He explained that the standards are higher for those public safety buildings upon which peoples’ lives might depend.

“The code requires that fire stations, police stations and hospitals are built to higher standards so if there is a big catastrophe, an earthquake or a big climate event, the last building standing should be the fire station, the police station and the hospital,” Hyland said.

During the April 2 board meeting, he recapped some findings in the feasibility study.

Port City Architecture “was hired by the town to do a study on your fire station needs and the fire department needs. Where you are going and how to best serve your community for the next 50 years or so,” Hyland said.  “We tried to look for 50 years. We do that because most fire stations — they get replaced or renovated every 50 years.”

Step one was to access what the town has.

“The first thing we did it did a review of the existing two stations you have. We found a lot of deficiencies in both buildings: Not well insulated and the sprinkler systems probably don’t meet codes,” he said.

A fire station consultant was called in to establish apparatus needs and staff requirements and to ultimately figure out how many square feet would be required.

“We decided on your square footage needs. We tailor that to your community. We make sure it is in line with similarly sized communities,” Hyland explained.

“The square footage requirement is 18,650. What you have here in Casco is 9,000 square feet short so it would have be expanded,” he said.

Renovations would call for a drive-through bay, he said. Today’s public safety equipment is bigger, and often won’t fit through old doors, he said.

Then, he braced the board for the cost revealing.

“The renovation on the existing building — I don’t want to scare you on prices. We have a lot of projects going. We are really current. We are always talking total project costs. That is everything: surveys, our costs, furniture, etc. That is everything for a turn-key building,” he said.

“The current values were way down before COVID, at $300 something a square foot. They jumped to $550 and went down a little.  Now, our current prices are about $550 per SF,” Hyland said.

There is no room for luxury in a fire station, he said.

“It is for a good quality building, without any excess. It is a quality building that will last a long time, and not a whole bunch of ‘bells and whistles,’ ” Hyland said.

Port City recommended building new because of the expense of upgrading Central Station.

“The overall costs of a new building option versus a renovation option remain close. A new building provides a better floor plan layout that is designed for the town specifically. A renovated building may require more circulation to make the overall design flow and operate properly for the Fire Department,” Hyland said.

“Both options will provide a safe and healthy work environment for the staff and will enhance recruiting of the most talented first responders in the state,” he said.

He mentioned one of the drawbacks of renovating.

“The chances of unforeseen issues is higher with the existing building renovations,” he said. “If a new building is selected, the town will have an opportunity to create a municipal complex area with the old building being taken over by the Public Works Department.”

“That was our recommendation to go with a new building, farther down the site, away from the town office. It would give your town a nice municipal complex and meet your town’s fire safety needs for the next 50 years,” Hyland concluded.

Resident Tuan Nguyen was one of the first people to respond to the presentation. His response was a series of questions on how to get the ball rolling on the community discussion.

“When are we really going to be looking at all of capital improvement needs? When is that conversation going to take place? what can we do to move forward on these types of projects,” Nguyen asked

Casco Town Manager Tony Ward answered.

“My recommendation would be around town meeting time,” he said.

Hyland mentioned there is federal funding of between $1 and $2 million called “deferral money” for these types of projects.

“Armed with what you have, yoy have enough to make an application .Other towns we have been working with have been getting $1 to $2 million from the federal government. It is something to consider the timeliness of it. I think Casco would qualify for something along those lines,” he said.