According to a report from The Hawk Eye, seven weeks after transferring $37,000 of Local Option Sales Tax revenue into a capital improvements fund, the Wapello, Iowa, City Council agreed Thursday to hire Coralville engineering firm VSP Engineering to develop plans and other specifications for a new fire station.
The scope of services agreement will in two phases. Phase 1 will cost $2,500 and cover preliminary engineering, including 50 percent of the building plans (floor plan and building elevations), 25 percent of the site planning (site layout plan), and an estimate of probable costs (preliminary building and site).
Phase 2 will cost $15,000 and cover final engineering design and specifications, which will include bid documents, final construction plans, and project administration. Work not included in the scope of services is materials testing and/or construction inspection layout.
Wapello Mayor Shawn Maine indicated the agreement was developed following a meeting of city officials and Wapello Fire and Rescue (WFR) personnel, who have been lobbying for a new station for the past several years.
Maine said officials hope it will be easier to fund portions of development through LOST revenue and by breaking the project into phases. The city has earmarked half of the one-cent sales tax the city collects to the repayment of bonds used in the construction of the new Louisa County jail; Louisa County retired those bonds late last year, allowing the city to apply the half-cent to projects such as the fire station.
