City Council awards bid for fire department renovation

Published 5:00 pm Friday, January 19, 2024

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The Andalusia City Council on Tuesday awarded a bid for interior remodeling of the fire station.

JNB Services of Daleville, the only company which bid on the project, was awarded a $256,536 bid for work that will include private sleeping accommodations for the six to seven firefighters who are always on duty, updated bathrooms, and an updated kitchen and common area.

Firefighters also will be able to control the thermostats in their individual sleeping quarters.

Very little has changed since the facility was first built in the 1970s, Andy Wiggins, director of planning, told the council.

“Members of the fire department are actually going to do the interior demolition work, which helps with the cost of the project,” Wiggins said. “They can’t wait to get started.”

During four to six months it will take for the interior renovation of the AFD, temporary quarters will be set up in the parking lot for firefighters, Wiggins said.

Updates to the exterior of the station, including a new façade, will be bid in the spring, Wiggins said.

“These guys have waited a long time for this update, and we’re very excited to be able to move this work forward,” Mayor Earl Johnson said.

The work was among those planned when the city secured its 2022 Series A Bonds.

In other business, the council:

  • Approved the purchase of streetlights for the sidewalk project currently underway at Andalusia High School. The approximately 1.1-mile sidewalk project is being funded primarily by a federal TAP grant, with a 40 percent match from local funding.