Public safety building still slated to open in January
The new year is anticipated to bring a new home away from home to firefighters and Macomb County Sheriff’s Office deputies in Macomb Township.
The Joseph E. Koss Public Safety Building is being built near 23 Mile Road and Alma Drive, east of Romeo Plank Road in Macomb Township. It is on the same property as a township senior center and broadcast media center. Construction on the site began in the spring 2019.
On Dec. 7, Macomb Township Fire Chief Robert Phillips said that multiple tradespeople were working on construction such as electrical, plumbing, and mechanical.
“Masons are finishing up the front entrance,” Phillips said. “We have the majority of the doors and windows installed.”
Drywall, sanding, mudding and painting is also moving ahead, according to Phillips.
“I think the masons will be finished within the next few days, so all that should be done,” Phillips said. “We should be at a point by late December to be ready for finishing for flooring and carpeting and all that.”
The apparatus bays that house the fire vehicles are currently in use, and have been since about February 2020, Phillips confirmed. Five vehicles are housed there.
Phillips further said that the furniture has been delivered to the site, and that installation of furniture and many other things are scheduled to wrap up in early January barring any COVID-19 related complications. In October, Phillips estimated that COVID-19 delayed the project by about three months. More recent COVID-19 related delays have included materials and manufacturing delays, and some subcontractors have had less than full crews due to COVID-19 exposure or quarantines, Phillips said.
“Unfortunately it is taking more time. All the subcontractors are finding it hard to find people, and when a few are off, it slows things down,” Phillips said.
Despite these delays, the building remains on track to open in January 2021, Phillips confirmed. In February 2020, a decommissioning ceremony was held for Fire Station One shortly before demolition began, with fire department personnel housed temporarily in a construction trailer. Although the fire apparatus bays are in use, firefighters continue to operate out of a temporary trailer, Phillips said. He also said that currently nine full-time firefighters are assigned to the area that was formerly Fire Station One, with three assigned on each 24-hour shift for three shifts. Phillips said that 13 total auxiliary and paid-on-call firefighters are currently assigned to the former Fire Station One area.
In December 2018, the sheriff’s office substation was demolished. The sheriff’s office continues to temporarily operate out of the township’s broadcast media center. Phillips said that at this point the sheriff’s portion of the new building cannot yet be used. He also said that although the sheriff’s garage portion is nearly complete, it is currently being utilized to house some materials and furniture.
The Joseph E. Koss Public Safety Building is projected to be sufficient for community needs for about 50 years. The 37,000-squarefoot building will include five drive-through bays for the fire department, space for 14 sheriff’s office vehicles, offices for police and fire personnel, a shared break room, kitchen, exercise room, training room and conference room, locker rooms for both departments and firefighter dorms. Public access for the new building will be off of Alma Drive and the public parking lot will be along 23 Mile Road.
The building will have wifi access points throughout that will allow fire and sheriff to utilize the technology provided by COMTEC as part of the contract with COMTEC. Fire truck and sheriff vehicles all have mobile data terminals in them and the building will have access to that information on monitors throughout the building.
“None of it is completed yet. It is all currently being installed,” Phillips said.
The building has been built to eliminate cross-contamination by reducing the amount of toxins from vehicle exhaust and to keep contaminated clothing from entering the administrative portion of the building.
The project originated a few years ago when the Macomb County Department of Roads notified the township of its plans to widen 23 Mile Road from Romeo Plank Road to North Avenue. With widening, the 1952 Macomb Township Fire Station One and the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office substation would have been on the edge of the roadway.
Phillips began working on the project for the new public safety building after learning, in December 2015, that the 23 Mile Road widening project would have put Fire Station One too close to the road. In 2016, Phillips held discussions with James Van Tiflin, the township engineer, and then-planning director Patrick Meagher to determine utilities, septic fields, and other items.
After ascertaining what was needed and would fit on the property, the next step was to obtain Macomb Township Board of Trustees approval to seek an architectural design service. The bid was awarded for the architectural design service in the fall of 2017 to Anderson, Eckstein and Westrick. Most of 2017 was spent doing design and budgetary numbers.
In September 2018, the township board awarded a construction contract for the building to Bernco Inc. of St. Clair Shores for $11.06 million. The contract had a contingency of $875,000 built into it, and about an additional $300,000 was estimated to be needed for sales tax. About $700,000 was needed for costs such as furniture, lockers and other items. Total cost for storm water detention for the new public safety building, the broadcast media center and the senior citizens building was approved by the board of trustees in May 2019 at approximately $700,000.