The Rio Arriba County Commission approved the low bid for a new fire station for Abiquiú Sept. 25 to replace a 30-year-old station.
County Manager Lorenzo Valdez said besides its age, the station is often hard to access at its current location in the Pueblo, especially during church services. The new station will sit on the County-owned grounds of the Rural Events Center on State Road 554.
The County awarded the contract ot R and M Construction, of Alcalde, which plans to build the three-bay, 3,200-square-foot metal building at a cost of $523,780. The only other bid was for $576,000 submitted by Blue Sky Builders, of Española.
The project will be funded by a combination of money from the state legislature (more than $200,000) and a loan from the County’s fire tax fund, County Grants and Contracts Administrator Phillip Morfin said. It is expected to be completed within 120 calendar days of the County’s notice to proceed.
The Commission also approved a proposal by Blue Sky Builders to rebuild the Brazos Canyon Fire Station for $539,000.
The station exploded Feb. 19 because of a propane leak, which also killed former chief Michael Hays.
The station went out to bid for the first time in June, but one contractor submitted a bid County officials thought was too low to do the work (just under $300,000). A state Construction Industries Division review of the plans also led to some changes to the station’s design, so the County decided to scrap the first bid and start the process again.
Three companies participated in the first round of bidding, but the second round was not published in the SUN, and only Blue Sky submitted a proposal.
The new station will closely resemble the old one. The two-bay, 2,400-square-foot station will include an office, a meeting room, a storage room and a kitchen. Northern New Mexico Engineers, of Cebolla, estimated it would cost $482,175 to build the station.
The Brazos accident in February has cost the County substantially, because the station was mistakenly left off of the County’s insurance policy, and the County paid GLM Construction, of Cleveland, $83,000 to demolish what remained of the old station. When GLM asked for more money to complete the job, County employees completed the work themselves.
The new station will be funded out of the general fund, Valdez said.