Port homes in on firm but firehouse site still at issue

The three firms competing to design a new $5 million City of Port Washington firehouse will be interviewed at the end of this month.

Fire Chief Mark Mitchell told the Police and Fire Commission last week that the subcommittee, which was formally constituted by the Common Council on Feb. 4, was to meet Feb. 13 to come up with questions for the three firms.

Five Bugles Design will be interviewed by the subcommittee on Wednesday, Feb. 26, and Kueny Architects and SEH will be interviewed the following day, he said. The interviews will be conducted in closed session.

Each interview will consist of a 25-minute presentation followed by a 25-minute question and answer period, Mitchell said.

After the interviews, the subcommittee will recommend two finalists to be considered by the Common Council in March. The timetable was firmed up a week after the Common Council formally created the subcommittee, adding two aldermen — Dan Bennett, who was a member of the fire station taskforce, and Deb Postl — to the membership.

Others on the subcommittee include Fire Chief Mark Mitchell, Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven, Police and Fire Commission member Jim Biever, former Fire Chief Marc Eernisse and architect Mike Müller.

Aldermen also specified that they want the subcommittee to forward two design firms to the Common Council for consideration.

Although Ald. Jonathan Pleitner initially made a motion that the subcommittee submit only one firm to the council, others said that isn’t enough.

“I would object to that,” Ald. Paul Neumyer said. “I would like to see three ... We should at least have more than one to choose from.”

Ald. Jon Sigwart agreed, recommending that two firms be brought to the council for interviews.

“As long as we have a choice, I’m OK with it,” he said.

Pleitner also stated that the new firehouse should be built on the former Schanen farm on the southeast side of the intersection of Highway 33 and Jackson Road.

Ald. Mike Gasper noted that while this was one of the sites selected by the fire station taskforce, the Common Council has never taken formal action on the location of a new firehouse.

“I believe we should have selected a site before we bring an architect on board,” he said.

The new fire station is expected to cost about $5 million, Vanden Noven said, adding design fees are typically 7% of the construction cost.

The request for design proposals the city sent out specifies that the new station be built on three to five acres of the former Schanen farm, which is owned by the city, “or similar property in the general vicinity.”

The proposed station should be 15,000 to 20,000 square feet and include six drive-through apparatus bays, a training area, eight dorm rooms, male and female locker facilities, a secure emergency medical services supply room, a workout facility, kitchen and lounge, conference room and a training or meeting room that could double as a community room.

Even though the city owns the land and would provide water to the site, the Village of Saukville has the right to provide sewer service there. 

Officials have said that if they aren’t able to provide sewer service to the site, they may build the new facility with a holding tank.