Consultants selected to assess Aberdeen fire, police, jail, court facility upgrades

By Dan Hammock • December 23, 2020 3:30 pm
DAN HAMMOCK | THE DAILY WORLD A consultant has been hired to develop a plan for Aberdeen fire station upgrades that will, among other things, allow for proper storage of the department’s two new fire apparatus, delivered earlier this year.
DAN HAMMOCK | THE DAILY WORLD A consultant has been hired to develop a plan for Aberdeen fire station upgrades that will, among other things, allow for proper storage of the department’s two new fire apparatus, delivered earlier this year.

Aberdeen Mayor Pete Schave looks at the fire and police stations, municipal court and jail facilities in Aberdeen and sees aging, outdated buildings in major need of improvement, if not outright replacement.

When asked about good community investments for a portion of the $23 million armory fire insurance settlement money the city recently got, he specifically listed the fire and police stations as candidates.

So he was understandably enthusiastic Wednesday night when the City Council unanimously approved the selection of contractors to perform “a space needs assessment of development of a building program for the City of Aberdeen’s main fire station and the South Aberdeen fire station,” and “to guide the city in site selection, design and eventual construction of a criminal justice facility.”

Money for the assessments has been in the current year budget and when both proposals came before the council Tuesday, Schave asked, “Is there any discussion, other than ‘yay’?”

There wasn’t. Both were unanimously approved.

A request for proposals went out in November. The contracts pay each of two consultants $40,000.

Selected out of six proposals for the criminal justice facility — which encompasses the police department, municipal court and jail — was Bainbridge Island firm Coates Design, the same firm that has designed the proposed Gateway Center for the east edge of downtown.

In its proposal, Coates Design said the current facility is a safety hazard, and its location doesn’t allow for expansion to meet the growing demand for police services in the community.

TCA Architecture of Seattle was selected from seven proposals to handle the fire station assessment. After a tour of existing facilities, the contractor team concluded the need for major upgrades to the 700 W. Market St. station, saying in its proposal, “the building has outlived its useful life, is located in known liquefaction zone, and would not survive an earthquake.”

Additionally, “An anticipated second new fire station in the South Bay area (the south Aberdeen station) is a high priority in order to appropriately house the department’s new apparatus.” The department took delivery on two new fire engines this past year.

TCA and Coates are expected to have final site selections, space needs requirements and cost estimates for the proposed facilities by the end of April.