- September 18, 2024
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Palm Coast’s next two fire stations may cost $3.6 million over budget to build.
The city has been working to construct two new fire stations for the Palm Coast Fire Department: a new Fire Station 22 to replace the historic Fire Station 22 on Palm Coast Parkway, and an entirely new Fire Station 26 in Seminole Woods Boulevard. City architect Eric Gebo and Fire Chief Kyle Berryhill gave the City Council an update on the plans and designs for the two stations at the Jan. 9 council workshop meeting.
The designs are about 10,000 square feet in size and meet health and safety needs for fire services, Gebo said. The bay areas, Berryhill said, are the largest and cheapest areas to build.
“This is not, in our opinion, a rich design,” Berryhill said. “It's designed to do what we need it to do.”
Gebo and Berryhill were asking council to approve additional design services through Schenkel Schultz Architecture totaling $1.4 million for both stations, a contingency fund of $50,000 and approving a grant agreement with the State Fire Marshal for $5 million.
The projects are still in the design phase, and these funds would just be used for the design and planning process, not for construction.
Fire Station 26 is slated for 3699 Seminole Woods Blvd. and would serve the area south of State Road 100 and west of Seminole Woods Boulevard. The area is currently served by PCFD’s Engine 29, housed at Flagler County Fire Station 92.
The replacement Fire Station 22 would be built at 350 Palm Coast Parkway NE, a third of a mile east of the current historic Fire Station 22. The historic station — located at the corner of Palm Coast Parkway and Clubhouse Drive — is no longer able to serve as a fire station due to the expensive upgrades and repairs it requires.
Palm Coast budgeted $8 million for the construction phases of each new fire station. The new Fire Station 22 construction estimate is $9.7 million, and Fire Station 26 is projected to cost $9.9 million for construction, for a combined shortfall of $3.6 million.
“This is not, in our opinion, a rich design. It's designed to do, you know, what we need it to do.”
— KYLE BERRYHILL, PCFD Fire Chief
Palm Coast does have $3 million in grant funding from the American Rescue Plan Act for the new Fire Station 22, though those funds must be obligated to a project by the end of 2024 and fully expended by the end of 2026. Fire Station 26 was awarded $5 million in State Appropriation funds that must be used by June 2028. Both grants are already considered in the projects’ budgets.
Gebo said Station 26 is a higher priority to reduce response time, but Station 22 has the earlier deadline because of the ARPA funding.
The cost increases, Gebo said, includes a 10.2% cost escalation and 10% cost contingency.
Both stations’ locations will help fill in gaps in the PCFD’s coverage, Berryhill said, and the construction estimates are based on the concept designs — there are things that can be cut to lower the cost, he said.
“There's potential that we can make some adjustments to make sure that we're able to come in within a budgetary way,” Berryhill said.
Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin said the city seems to consistently come over budget on projects, and he’d like to see that cycle broken in the upcoming budgeting process.
Berryhill said they are still looking at other possible funding opportunities to help bridge the shortfall.
As for the historic Fire Station 22, the city had previously considered several options of what to do with the historic building. Gebo said another presentation regarding the old station will likely come before the council in March.
