Wainfleet Township will begin the process of pre-qualifying contractors vying to build the township’s planned new central fire station, after township politicians received a new report pegging the preliminary cost estimates of the long-awaited project at about $4.64 million.

Fire Chief Morgan Alcock and representatives from Niagara Falls architectural firm Raimondo and Associates Architects — hired as the project architect in January — worked together to shave about $347,000 off what had been initial cost estimates, Alcock said in the report to council on May 11.

Those savings were achieved through design changes such as using wooden roof trusses instead of cold rolled steel, retaining excavated materials removed during construction on-site and changing plans for two mezzanines to one larger mezzanine that centralizes utilities and removes a second set of stairs.

Mayor Kevin Gibson stressed that taxpayers should know that staff and council members will keep looking for savings on the project, which is finally coming to fruition after 17 years of studies and discussion. The township has the benefit of working with an architectural firm with multiple fire and paramedic station projects, including many in Niagara, under its belt, he said.

“We have a very experienced company here designing this building,” Gibson said. “The public can be confident that we are benefiting from all those experiences of building all those fire buildings and emergency buildings.”

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