The Sanibel Fire and Rescue District\u2019s commission approved entering into a contract for the reconstruction of the fire station on Palm Ridge Road during a recent special meeting.<\/p>\n
On April 22, the commissioners voted unanimously 2-0 to authorize Fire Chief Kevin Barbot to execute the construction services contract with the Manhattan Construction Company for the partial demolition and reconstruction of Station 171 in an amount not to exceed about $9,891,436.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Bruce Cochrane had an excused absence.<\/p>\n
Prior to the vote, Barbot explained that Manhattan was the lowest responsive bidder.<\/p>\n
The project will be funded through the U.S. Housing and Urban Development\u2019s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant \u2014 Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program, managed by the county.<\/p>\n
He reported that the district received an additional $1.64 million on top of its original $8.2 million, extending his thanks to Lee County staff and county Commissioner Kevin Ruane for their help.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes us whole for the entire construction services contract,\u201d Barbot said.<\/p>\n
He continued that the city of Sanibel is the grantee and the district is a subgrantee for the HUD funds.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe city has absolutely been a phenomenal partner to work with,\u201d Barbot said.<\/p>\n
He noted that it could have claimed part of the federal funding for serving as a pass-through agency, but it decided not to charge the district anything, which gave the district about $260,000 more.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey just want us to recover, to rebuild,\u201d Barbot said.<\/p>\n
At the Lee County Board of County Commissioners meeting on April 21, the commission voted unanimously 5-0 to increase the CDBG-DR award for the Station 171 project by about $1,641,545.<\/p>\n