Seymour Fire Chief Brad Lucas recently proposed a contract to begin the design process at Fire Station 1 at 318 East St.
“Station 1 was built in 1967 and is a much-needed remodel,” Lucas said during Thursday’s Seymour Board of Public Works and Safety meeting at city hall.
Mayor Matt Nicholson and other board members approved the contract with the mayor’s signature. The project has been a topic of discussion during several recent board meetings.
After receiving quotes from four different architecture companies and looking at two similar ones, Lucas decided to stick with RQAW Corp.
RQAW, an architecture and engineering firm based in Fishers, will lead the design process for Station 1. The firm also designed the new Fire Station 2, built in 2022, and other projects in Jackson County including the Jackson County Judicial Center in Brownstown.
“After some consideration, we decided to stick with RQAW, and it wasn’t a process we took lightly,” Lucas said.
The remodel of Station 1 will include renovating all electrical, plumbing and heating systems and the addition of a room. Depending on what all can be fit into the design budget of $108,750, Lucas hopes to turn the room addition into a fitness room with restrooms and an area for firefighters to do their laundry.
Lucas and RQAW will conduct a kickoff meeting March 16 to discuss the design process. The concept of the remodel design is not yet available.
Lucas expects the design work to be completed around the end of June or beginning of July. After the completion of the design process, the project will be sent to different construction companies for bidding.
With the design contract approved by the city, Lucas said the design process should begin within a few weeks.
“Thank you, Brad, and everyone who was involved in looking over the different contracts to make this possible,” Nicholson said.