As the City of Folsom continues to grow, so is its Fire Department. At it’s most recent regular meeting, Folsom City Council unanimously approved a resolution that will allow construction to begin on Folsom Fire Station #34, located south of Highway 50.
The new station will be the first of two in the newly developed Folsom Ranch area of Folsom. It will be located at the corner of Westwood Drive and Old Ranch Road.
The city received six different bids for the project that boasts a total budget of $11,860,200. The Estimate of probable Cost for this project was $10,400,000. At the recommendation of the Folsom Fire Department and the Public Works Department, council approved a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute an agreement with D.L. Falk Construction, Incorporated, the lowest bidder on the project.
The winning bid came in at 1.5 million less than the budgeted cost. This is the second phase of the project. Phase-l of the project consisted of civil engineering site improvements including grading, drainage, utilities, and building pad construction, which was approved through and earlier resolution in August of 2022 followed by an additional appropriation due a change order in February of this year.
Prior to the approval of last week’s resolution, Folsom Vice Mayor YK Chalamcherla gave praise to Folsom Fire District Chief Chad Wilson and everyone involved in the bidding process for their diligence in securing multiple proposals and ultimately, saving the city some funding.
“I want to pass big kudos on to all on our fire department that was involved in this process for however you did it and managed to get six different builders to bid on this project,” said Chalamcherla. “This is saving some very hard-earned money by our taxpayers.
Before motioning the pass, the resolution, Chalamcherla inquired about potential change orders that could result in increased expense as the construction is underway. Wilson explained that they established a 7.25% contingency to address potential change orders or additional costs. Chalamcherla looked to City Attorney Steven Yang for consultation on the contingency.
“This is very reasonable for a contingency,” said Yang, noting that its common for such contingencies to be as high as 10-percent. “Cost of work can increase or it can decrease and this is very reasonable.”
Wilson also noted when Folsom Fire Department recently built station 39, the city only used 2.9% of a contingency. Wilson also noted D.L. Falk Construction’s experience and resume in the construction of such projects, noting they have recently built a station in the Cosumnes Fire District as well as stations in San Jose and Hayward, all of which were successful.
Construction of the new Folsom Fire Station #34 is expected to begin in the coming weeks and is estimated to be complete in early 2024. The new facility will be very similar in design and layout of Station #39, the most recent facility built in the city.
