SMOKEY POINT The sign for the new Smokey Point Fire Station was unveiled Sept. 19 by city officials and fire department and district staff from both Arlington and Marysville.
The handshake between Arlington Mayor Margaret Larson and Marysville Mayor Dennis Kendall came just days before four architectural firms presented their proposals to the city of Arlingtons review board.
Arlington Fire Department Chief Jim Rankin echoed city of Arlington Capital Projects Manager Paul Ellis expectation that an architectural and engineering proposal should be ready to bid out to a construction contractor by next summer, in time for the fire station to be completed and open for business by the fall of 2009.
The fire station will be located on a three-acre lot currently owned by the city at the northeast corner of 43rd Avenue and 172nd Street, part of the property of the Arlington Municipal Airport. The city of Arlington has completed a space needs study and building layout, as well as established a building committee, made up of city staff, to address concerns and issues arising during the design phase.
During the first phase of services, the architectural and engineering firm selected would work with city staff to create a conceptual design, site plan and final design, including multiple access points, public and staff parking, landscaping and an on-site storm system for an approximately 14,000-square-foot, single-floor facility.
The fire station would also have to include a 1,100-square-foot public meeting room, administration offices, line supervision offices, restrooms, showers, bunk rooms, laundry facilities, a decontamination facility, a backup power generator with an auto-start, a satellite office and interview area for police, and bays for firefighting vehicles and equipment.
The second phase would require the firm to create all construction documents, plans and specifications in accordance with city standards, ready for the public bid process.
Ellis explained that a firm will be selected based on its qualifications, including the strengths of its staff and the similarity of previous projects to this one, as well as its program of work and general approach. The firms past performance and references, as well as its general knowledge of the Arlington community, will also be considered.