BRYANT -- City officials passed on the chance to have a worn-down fire station inspected and instead opted to spend the money on revamping the structure in the coming years.
Crist Engineers Inc. estimated an inspection of Station 3 would cost $6,350, Assistant Fire Chief Brandon Futch said at a Finance and Personnel Committee meeting Tuesday night.
"We have a station that houses close to $1 million in firetrucks that we know is going to collapse," Futch said. "I don't worry about the firemen as much as I do if we get a snow and it collapses on the trucks when no one is in there."
The firehouse at 2224 Justus Loop is one of three stations in Bryant. After plans to build two new fire stations were put on hold in July because of lower-than-expected sales-tax revenue, Alderman Randy Cox requested a discussion of the station's structural integrity.
Cox, a former fire chief who is challenging incumbent Jill Dabbs for mayor, was absent from Tuesday's meeting. He also recommended a review of storm shelters at two fire stations.
Current Fire Chief J.P. Jordan did not recommend an inspection for Station 3, Futch said.
The committee unanimously decided to take no action on the inspection, which means the City Council will not vote on it at its next meeting.
"It's $6,350 just to tell us what we already know -- that the roof is going to fall through," Alderman Brenda Miller said. "I'd rather spend that money on a new roof."
Delaying an inspection does not put the city at risk, City Attorney Chris Madison said. The building and the equipment are insured through the Arkansas Municipal League, and any injured firefighters would be able to claim workers' compensation.
Dabbs said money to revamp the station could be available in less than two years, once the city pays off a bond for buying two new firetrucks in October 2013 for $408,000 each.
"This is a priority of ours," she said. "This is going to be the most important capital improvement project, and I'm confident we can do something better."
In another unanimous decision at Tuesday's meeting, the committee passed along a $2,500 proposal from Crist Engineers to research the possibility of Bryant building a water treatment plant.
Alderman Mike Chandler suggested the project. Water rates from Central Arkansas Water will jump between 10 percent and 25 percent by 2016, he said.
The City Council will vote on the proposal at its next meeting Aug. 28. The report would be the first in a series of more costly inspections to build the plant.
Metro on 08/13/2014