No resolution yet on Boyceville fire hall stormwater retention pond
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
BOYCEVILLE — After another round of contentious discussion, no resolution has been reached concerning the Boyceville fire district paying for a portion of the $42,000 retention pond that will collect stormwater from the new fire hall.
The state Department of Natural Resources wanted two retention ponds, one to collect water from the Charlotte Street extension and one to collect water from the new Boyceville fire hall and parking lot, said Gilbert Krueger, Boyceville village president and chair of the fire board, at the July 10 meeting of the Boyceville Community Fire District Board.
After a meeting of representatives from the village, the fire district and Erik Evenson, a senior engineer with MSA Professional Services, an idea emerged to build one larger stormwater retention pond rather than two somewhat smaller ponds, Kruger said.
The larger stormwater retention pond will cost $42,000, while the cost for the two smaller retention ponds may have been around $30,000 or $35,000 each.
“It was cheaper to have one pond,” Krueger said.
After contentious discussion at the June fire district meeting when representatives for the other municipalities in the district said they were not willing to pay any more money for the fire station project, Krueger now says, “I wish I had said two ponds.”
At a bid opening March 6, Shefchik Builders, Inc. out of Menomonie emerged as the low bidder with a base bid of $1,612,456 to build a new fire station in Boyceville directly south of the airport and east of the Synergy Cooperative convenience store and gas station on state Highway 79.
The Village of Boyceville is picking up the cost of constructing Charlotte Street past the new fire station and behind Synergy at a cost of about $400,000.
The village is not assessing the fire district for any of the cost of building the street or providing sewer and water utilities.
“What is the village asking?” asked Bob Anderson, chair of the Town of Stanton.
Since a stormwater retention pond was not included in the bid for the new fire station but is necessary for the project, “I am looking for you guys to be fair,” Krueger said.
Not 50 percent
Chase Potter, chair of the Town of Sherman, said it was “not fair” for the village to pay the entire cost of the retention pond but also said he was not willing to have the fire district pay 50 percent of the cost.
“The ball got dropped” in discussions with Five Bugles Design, Krueger said.
Five Bugles, a division of Wendel, an architecture, engineering, energy efficiency and construction management firm, designed Boyceville’s new fire station.
Wendel purchased Five Bugles Design and the Architectural Design Group (ADG) out of Eau Claire in 2017.
Anderson, as chair of the Town of Stanton, said he also was not interested in paying 50 percent of the retention pond and said he would need to go back to the town board to explain the situation.
Krueger said the town boards in the fire district would have to “figure out what you are morally obligated to pay and go from there.”
The engineers indicated that 50 percent of the retention pond will serve the fire hall and 50 percent will serve Charlotte Street, said Don Rose, Boyceville director of public works and also a member of the fire department.
The design is for half of the stormwater from the fire station and half from the street, he said.
“It will be cheaper for both the village and the fire district to combine (the retention pond),” Rose said.
Equalized value
If the municipalities in the fire district were to decide it was their obligation to pay for half of the stormwater retention pond, the municipalities would pay a percentage of $21,000 based on the amount of equalized value in the fire district.
For example, the Town of Tiffany accounts for 11 percent of the equalized value in the fire district, so the Town of Tiffany would pay $2,640 toward half of the retention pond for the fire hall.
Anderson said he was all but certain the Stanton Town Board would not approve paying for 50 percent of the retention pond.
Stanton has 21 percent of the equalized value in the fire district and would pay $4,410 for half of the retention pond.
Russell Hitz, chair of the Town of Hay River, said he was of the opinion that because the bid for the fire station did not include a retention pond, the architect with Five Bugles Design “did not check everything. He did not do his job.”
Hay River would have to take out another loan to pay for the retention pond, and the township “cannot go for another loan,” he said.
The Town of Hay River accounts for 22 percent of the equalized value in the fire district, so Hay River’s portion of half of the $42,000 retention pond would be $4,620.
If the fire district built a separate retention pond for the fire hall at a cost of $35,000, Hay River’s portion, for example, would be $7,700.
When the bids for the fire station were opened, Krueger said he knew there would be contingencies and over-runs on the project.
“I knew there would be something, but I thought we would be deeper into the project before we found out,” he said.
“I knew it was coming. I just didn’t know what it was going to be,” Krueger added.
Members of the Boyceville fire district approved a motion “to move on in the agenda” without coming to a resolution about the stormwater retention pond.
The Village of Boyceville accounts for 16 percent of the equalized value in the fire district. In addition to paying $21,000 for half of the stormwater retention pond for Charlotte Street, the village also would pay an additional $3,360 for the other half of the retention pond for the fire station if the fire district representatives were to decide the fire district should pay half for the retention pond.
Fire inspections
Tim Fasbender, Boyceville firefighter, reported on the fire inspections for the fire district.
Before Fasbender started his report, Cory Green, Boyceville fire chief, said he had an announcement to make.
Country Jam is planning a “first responders night” on July 18 to honor firefighters, Emergency Medical Services and law enforcement, and Green said he had received an e-mail message looking for nominations.
Green said he had nominated Fasbender, and Fasbender had been chosen for the firefighters.
Fire inspections are “preventative maintenance” and give the inspector an opportunity to “do education on violations,” Fasbender said as he started his report.
The violations are often something simple to correct, such as an exit light that is out or a fire extinguisher that needs to be recharged or replaced, Fasbender noted.
The fire department is required to inspect businesses on an annual basis, although some businesses require being inspected twice a year, he said.
Here is a list of the inspections Fasbender provided to the fire board:
• Village of Boyceville — 14 inspection locations with 4 violations and 0 corrections.
• Town of Tiffany — 7 inspection locations with 5 violations and 4 corrections.
• Town of Stanton — 1 inspection location with no violations and no corrections
• Town of Hay River — 7 inspection locations with 2 violations and no corrections.
• Town of Sherman — 1 inspection location with 1 violation and 1 correction.
• Town of New Haven — 10 inspection locations with 20 violations and 2 corrections.
• Village of Wheeler — 18 inspection locations with 19 violations and 1 correction.
• Boyceville — 45 inspection locations with 45 violations and 9 corrections.
It was not clear from the report what “Boyceville” referred to, since the Village of Boyceville and all of the townships in the fire district were included in the report. The total from the village and the townships amounted to 58 inspection locations with 51 violations and 8 corrections.