By Rodd Cayton
Bernalillo firefighters can see their new digs on the horizon. The Town Council has approved a bid for EPX New Mexico to construct a new fire station at the site of the former Roosevelt Elementary School. The bid, at just under $9.04 million, includes new living quarters, offices, training rooms and three apparatus bays, along with landscape and irrigation work.
Mayor Jack Torres said the project was made possible by the town’s representatives in Santa Fe, mentioning by name State Sen. Cindy Nava, Rep. Alan T. Martinez and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Rep. Derrick Lente, Torres said, was vital to efforts to get the money together for the project — $10 million in capital outlay over several years. “(Lente) carried most of the load, but they all helped in different ways,” Torres told the Sandoval Signpost Thursday.
Design and preparation work have been completed, Torres said, meaning there are only a few legal steps before construction can begin. “We hope to be in the ground by September,” he said.
Town treasurer Terri Gray told councilors five firms submitted bids, and consultant Molzen Corbin determined EPX to be the best candidate.
Torres said the project consists of taking a historical building and giving it a new life as a “state-of-the-art brand-spanking new fire station.” He said staff have assured him the town has enough cash reserves to cover extra expenses that may come up. Torres expressed pride at seeing the fire crews get new accommodations to replace their quarters in Town Hall. “They’re acceptable, maybe,” he said. “But this will treat them the way they should be treated. And I’m really happy to see this is happening for them.”