New fire station will cost nearly $1 million more than expected

City council OKS funds; official says costs could rise.

Sandy Springs h as approved nearly $1 million in additional costs to build a new fire station.

Fire Station No. 2 will be constructed where the for

station stood at 135 Johnson Ferry Road.

The original firehouse opened 1969 and needed to be upgraded to meet current public safety needs, according to the city.

During a Public Facilities Authority meeting Tuesday, the City Council authorized City Manager Andrea Surratt to approve additional proj- ect costs up to $500,000. Deputy City Manager David Wells said council members had previously approved another $462,000 since the original building was demol- ished last summer.

The project has a total budget of $10 million, he added. Sandy Springs awarded a $6.5 million con- tract to Reeves Young con

struction company in February, but total costs now stand close to $7.5 million. More project costs could come about in addition to the $500,000 approved this week, Wells said.

Wells and Mayor Rusty Paul said the newest round of funds will be dedicated to sewage work and an underground tank found by construction crews across from the work site, as well as a traffic signal.

“These are things we couldn’t know until construction began,” Paul told council members. “That’s why we’re doing this — to react to things we couldn’t anticipate on the ground.”

Wells said construction for the new fire station is expected to be complete around April. It will have two levels, a decontamination area, a training area and separate living quarters for male and female firefighters.

COURTESY OF SANDY SPRINGS FD Mayor Rusty Paul said the rise in cost for the new Sandy Springs fire station is a result of finding issues once construction began.