Fairfield selectmen OK $300K for firehouse bathrooms

FAIRFIELD — The selectmen approved nearly $300,000 to renovate bathrooms at fire station 2, which would make them handicap accessible and add women’s facilities.

“It’s an important upgrade that’s long needed, more so with the recent addition of two female firefighters,” Fire Chief Denis McCarthy said at this week’s selectmen meeting.

McCarthy said the renovation has been in the works for a while, and the department has been putting aside $250,000 a year for renovations. The fund currently includes about $699,000.

While the #2 station is Fairfield’s newest, the bathrooms are 50 years old. He said the building was built in 1973 and the bathrooms haven’t been renovated since.

The town had originally planned to renovate the restrooms at fire stations 1, 2 and 5 as one project but the cost came back much higher than expected and so each station is being done as its own project. Bismarck Construction Co., the selected firm, had a bid that — though higher than expected — was at least $68,000 less than the other two bids.

“It is much higher than we anticipated,” McCarthy said.

Selectman Thomas Flynn said he supported the project due to the age and issues that are there, but questioned the high price tag.

“$300,000 to the general public sounds like a house,” he said. “Why a bathroom? What makes this so unique that it’s going to cost that amount of money?”

McCarthy said the bathrooms are covered in tile and situated on concrete which adds to the demolition and renovation costs. It also costs more than a typical bathroom project because it’s in a 24/7 firehouse and so the renovation needs to be worked around so the station can remain operational.

The bathrooms next to the dormitories will need to be renovated and subdivided to have a men’s and women’s bathroom, plus two other bathrooms on the other side of the building, he said.

Supply costs have also risen in general adding to the higher price, McCarthy said.

“I am equally frustrated by the escalation of costs that has occurred during COVID, but is consistent with what we have seen throughout the industry,” McCarthy said.

He said they’ve also had other recent renovation projects cost more than expected.

Officials said they considered rebidding but suspected the cost would come back even higher. Instead they’re doing station 2 first since the other two stations already have women’s facilities. They plan to bid for stations 1 and 5 later.

“They’re not as urgent as they are in station 2,” McCarthy said.

He said there’s no end in sight to elevated construction costs, though some costs have decreased. Even so, he said those lower costs are not enough to cover another project on the list.

“The other projects that we have looked to accomplish have similarly high prices,” he said.