Council To Vote On Design Work For 2 Fire Stations

Cookeville City Council will vote Thursday to authorize an architectural agreement for the construction of two fire stations.

City Manager James Mills said he and City Attorney Dan Rader have spent the last several weeks crafting the agreement that stipulates the contract includes a fee not to exceed $325,000. He said he expects the two stations to cost some $10 million.

“Including or excluding land, that’s to be determined,” Mills said. “We still have location for one, you know and we’re looking to find the location for the second which we hope to do in the next few weeks.”

Mills said the hunt for property to house the second station is of utmost importance with an agreement ready to be signed. Mills said hiring the same company for both stations would allow the city to save money by buying the same materials for both stations before they get more expensive as the current economic scale projects.

“The contract calls for a fee not to exceed $325,000 which we think is more than fair for the construction of two fire stations,” Mills said.

The city purchased a Gould Drive property in January to house Fire Station Three. Locating a parcel for Fire Station Two is the next order of business before designs can be drawn up and construction can begin. AEI Architects Engineers and Planners was chosen as the company to execute the designs. This is the next major step in having two new stations complete in what Mills said could be as soon as two years.