With costs expected to keep increasing, Jeannette seeks bids for fire station as it looks for ways to pay for project

Jeannette will begin seeking bids for a new fire station while continuing to look for more funding as fire Chief Bill Frye said he expects the total project cost to be much higher than originally anticipated.

The city in 2022 received a $1.2 million grant for the new station through the American Rescue Plan Act. Frye said he initially believed that would cover the entire price of replacing the department’s current station attached to city hall. But now, with costs rising, Frye said he thinks the funding will pay for only part of it.

The new station will be located in an empty city lot across Clay Avenue.

Council granted him permission this week to seek bids. The grant has to be used by December 2024.

“We need to spend what we have before we lose it,” Frye said.

The station, built in 1927, has sewage problems, black mold, termites and asbestos. It also is not big enough to hold all of the department’s trucks. The new station has been in the works since 2019, but prices for supplies and construction materials have increased since then.

“Everything’s much more expensive,” he said.

According to Associated Builders and Contractors, the cost of construction materials remains 37% higher than before the pandemic. It’s an issue also facing Hempfield Area School District which recently pushed back the start date of a high school renovation project after bids came in millions over budget.

Councilwoman Robin Mozley said she was in favor of moving forward and continuing to seek out other funding. Councilman Chuck Highlands suggested the project may need to be completed in phases.

Frye said instead of four garage doors and bays, the building will have two, which reduced the overall cost.

“We’ve cut off what we can cut off the initial design,” he said.

A home on a lot next to the future home of the new building has been deemed a public nuisance and city officials have asked that it be demolished through Westmoreland County American Rescue Plan funding set aside to address blight. Frye said the property is coming up for tax sale and the city may be able to acquire it.

Jeannette has the only paid full-time firefighters in the county.