For City Council Meeting [August 22, 2023]
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
APPROVAL: Henry Garcia, Interim City Manager
FROM: Tim Sullivan, Director of Maintenance and Facilities
Title
Request City Council to Authorize the Release of Bids for the Construction of the Rialto Fire Station 203 Dormitory Improvements Project, City Project No. 220204.
Body
BACKGROUND:
On December 14, 2021, the City Council accepted the Cal OES (Governor's Office of Emergency Services) pass-through grant sub-award allocation of $400,000 for the Fire Station Dormitory Improvement Project. Council concurrently adopted Resolution No 7804, amending the fiscal year 2021-2022 budget to account for these grant funds.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION:
Nationally, the fire service profession faces a significant gender gap, with only 7% of firefighters in the country being women. In order to recruit, develop, and retain the best candidates, fire departments must develop strategies that appeal to recruits. Having fire station dorm configurations that provide privacy was identified as a strategy to attract and retain recruits. The Rialto Fire Station has two (2) fire stations built in the 1990s with an open dorm configuration separated by partition walls and curtains. The dormitory project would reconstruct the existing dormitories within Fire Station 203 to separate sleeping quarters with individualized rooms for privacy.
The funding provided by Cal OES (Governor's Office of Emergency Services) in the amount of $400,000 was initially meant for the dormitories at Fire Station 203 and 204. However, preliminary construction estimates indicated insufficient funding to improve both stations and one fire station would have to be prioritized over the other until additional funding is available. The dormitories at Fire Station 203 are proposed to be constructed first, with the dormitories at Fire Station 204 to be improved once additional funding is available.
Staff coordinated with BOA Archit...
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