The Aurora City Council will vote next week on a proposed agreement with a construction firm to manage the building of three new fire stations.
The proposed contract with Leopardo Construction, Inc. of about $3.9 million would cover construction of new fire stations 4, 9 and 13.
The vote will be on unfinished business at the City Council meeting, which means there could be more discussion of the item and it will take a separate roll call vote.
City staff recommended the Hoffman Estates-based Leopardo although the company was initially not the highest-scoring of the firms that applied for the contract.
The company was chosen as one of three finalists after nine companies answered requests for proposals from the city. But it scored third of the final three – about 100 points lower than the second – and was chosen because city officials said they did much better than the other two finalists in the interview process.
“The bottom line is that in this instance, all three respondents were very qualified,” said Alex Alexandrou, the city’s chief management officer. “But Leopardo, they just blew the other two away” in the interviews.
Ald. Edward Bugg, 9th Ward, said he could not “remember a time when we took number three.”
“It just jumped out at me,” he said.
Alexandrou said the city has had experience with Leopardo, which oversaw construction management for the Public Safety Building on Indian Trail. One of the fire stations involved – Fire Station 4 – will be the new central station built next to that Aurora Police Department building, creating a public safety campus.
“I think some of (the city evaluating team) forgot we had a good experience with Leopardo,” Alexandrou said. “We are building something to last 50 years. We want short-term efficiencies but long-term value.”
Ald. Ted Mesiacos, 3rd Ward, himself an architect, said there are industry standards used to quantify the interview process similarly to the other scoring that is done. At last week’s Infrastructure and Technology Committee meeting, he pointed out that he wished that the interview information had been ranked that way.
But he said at this week’s Committee of the Whole meeting that he was comfortable with Leopardo, especially because they have done the same kind of work for the city before. He said the city could include more interview information “moving forward.”
Fire Station 4, currently at 800 Michels Ave., needs more than $500,000 in maintenance work during the next five years to remain in operation, fire department officials have said.
A study from several years ago that looked at the ideal placement of fire stations throughout the city showed the best spot for Fire Station 4 was just northeast of where the new location is planned.
That study also prompted plans to move other stations, such as Fire Station 9, on Diehl Road. It will go in a new building planned along Eola Road near Liberty Street.
Fire Station 13 will be a new one at Bilter Road and Nan Street, north of Interstate 88.
According to fire officials, the goal in moving and constructing new stations is to get response times below six minutes for regular fire responses and four minutes for emergency medical responses.
As construction manager, Leopardo will work with two different architects, as well as whatever construction companies are chosen for the project when they are bid.
FGM Architects, of Chicago, have been chosen to design Stations 9 and 13, and Cordogan Clark, of Aurora, is designing Fire Station 4.
But the projects all have to bid yet, so the final construction costs and the construction companies are unknown.
“We know these three fire stations are going to cost a lot of money,” Alexandrou said.
slord@tribpub.com
