Pahrump’s southside fire station set for expansion
As growth in the southern portion of the town of Pahrump continues and the population in that area increases, so too does the number of responses by Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue. The closest fire station to many of the homes at that end of the valley is Station No. 3, located at Kellogg and Squaw Valley roads, but as it sits today, it’s not large enough to meet the needs of the fire department. This won’t be the case much longer, however, with a $1.8 million construction contract awarded this month, paving the way for expansion of the fire station.
“[The project] adds an apparatus bay, which is identical to that of Station No. 4, which was completed at Bell Vista and Barney,” Pahrump Fire Chief Scott Lewis explained for the Nye County Commission during its Tuesday, May 6 meeting.
“The town of Pahrump currently owns the steel building – this is for erecting and providing the utilities and other items as described in the specs… The current facility is undersized for its current use. This is a project that has been underway for several years and it’s a project that is extremely important to our expansion model program… in order to have a better response for our southside citizens.”
There were four bids submitted for the project, including a roughly $3.5 million bid from Double M Construction, a $3.3 million bid from Rafael Construction, a $2.7 million bid from Shaw-Lundquist Associates and the $1.8 million bid from Top Rank Builders. The vastly differing price tags caught the attention of commissioner Bruce Jabbour, who questioned whether selecting the lowest bidder would result in change orders and, therefore, a higher cost in the end.
Commissioner John Koenig jumped in to assure Jabbour that difference in the bids was not a result of underbidding by Top Rank Builders but of added project elements in the bids from the other companies.
“It says the bid from Top Rank Builders was bid from the scope given and the other bidders bid outside the scope,” Koenig stated, referring to a staff report on the bidding process. “Adding items not requested, which is the reason for the additional costs. So, I’m good with it.”
Commissioner Debra Strickland made the motion to award the contract to Top Rank Builders in the amount of $1,810,510 and to fund the project from the Public Safety Sales Tax and/or Pahrump capital fund, at the discretion of the Nye County comptroller. Koenig offered a second and the motion passed with all in favor.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com
