Specifications include, but are not limited to: For many years the Town has been trying to replace the current Fire Station #2 in the basement of the Town Hall with a new fire station due to size limitations and health and safety issues. Most recently, that effort led to the Town purchasing 321 Old Homestead Highway (Town Tax Map 35 Lot 3) and Town voters authorizing design funds for a station in 2019. Through an RFQ process the Town selected KCS Architects of Keene, NH to design the new station. The design effort developed a 12,300 square foot station, which voters narrowly rejected 60% bonding approval for at the 2020 and 2021 Town Meetings. This proposed station is made up of essentially three sections: the hot zone, the warm zone, and a cold zone. The station does not include bedrooms or living quarters, but had a dedicated area on the site for an addition if that was needed in the future. The hot zone is focused on providing Swanzey’s firefighters a safe and clean station where their gear can be away from contaminants, space where they can properly clean their gear and dedicated facilities for both men and women. The warm zone is primarily the area where the trucks, apparatus, and equipment will be stored. The warm zone will have a diesel exhaust treatment system to capture the fumes from the trucks so they are not in the air the firefighters and members of the public in the station breathe. The cold zone is dedicated space separated from the contaminants in the hot zone and the warm zone and it has public and administrative areas. The public cold zone includes a training / meeting room that will be used for the training sessions the Swanzey Fire Department hosts multiple times per month. The administrative cold zone replaces the current fire department offices housed in Station #3 on Main Street in West Swanzey. The administrative cold zone will also have a conference room for meetings with business developers and residents for fire department business. There is also a report room where staff will be able to work privately on documentation with confidential medical information. In addition, the cold zone will serve as the Town’s emergency operations center. Preliminary plans of the proposed station will be posted on the Town website with this RFQ. In anticipation of a 2024 Warrant Article seeking bonding approval, the Town plans to work with KCS Architects and the selected Construction Management firm to make slight floor plan reductions and value engineer the project with a goal of lowering the total overall cost and seeking voter approval at the 2024 Town Meeting. The selected construction management firm will be hired in conjunction with KCS Architects to assist with key project planning considerations, including but not limited to: Preparation of cost estimates and budget Evaluation of alternatives, such as design reuse and phased construction Site analysis Assist with community engagement Address constructability and scheduling issues Value engineering Construction planning The firm selected for this project will have a demonstrated ability to engage in the project and provide the Town with the guidance required to make informed choices in developing and carrying out this project.
