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by Marie Puleo, Lighthouse Point News Reporter

City officials continue to make strides in laying the groundwork for the construction of the five bond projects that will be funded with proceeds from the $16.5 million bond issue approved by Lighthouse Point voters last November. These projects include the new Lighthouse Point fire station and community center. [See preliminary design concepts for these projects below the story.]

The City is getting close to hiring a Construction Manager at Risk to construct a new two-story fire station that will have an emergency operations center on the upper floor and will be rated for a category 5+ storm, and a new community center at Dan Witt Park. The construction manager will be required to provide a guaranteed maximum price for each project, and will work with the architect during the design phase to make sure the projects don’t go over budget.

Additionally, the City may enter into a continuing services contract with the selected construction manager for the three other bond projects, which are the construction of a new public works fleet maintenance building; renovation of the existing public works building; and the buildout of a second-floor community room in the library.

A Request For Qualifications (RFQ) for a Construction Manager at Risk was advertised by the City in mid-June, and 10 proposals were received by the July 16 deadline. Five of those firms were selected to give presentations on Aug. 23, and were then ranked based on qualifications. The selection committee gave top ranking to Kaufman Lynn Construction of Delray Beach.

The rank order is scheduled to go to the City Commission on Sept. 12 for confirmation. A contract negotiated with the top-ranked firm is expected to be brought to the City Commission at its meeting on Sept. 26, or its first meeting in October.

Currie Sowards Aguila Architects (CSAA), the architectural firm that was hired by the City in July to design the bond projects, requested a survey of the property that will be the site of the new fire station, and a survey of all of Dan Witt Park, where the new community center and public works building will be constructed. CSAA said the surveys were needed before design of the buildings could begin.

The City advertised an RFQ for professional survey services on June 26, and received nine proposals. Three shortlisted firms gave presentations on Aug. 7, and Pompano Beach-based Keith and Associates, Inc. received top ranking.

The rank order was brought to the City Commission for approval on Aug. 13, and a $25,000 contract with Keith and Associates was approved by the City Commission at its Aug. 27 meeting. The contract fees will be paid with funds from the bond issue.

Keith and Associates will complete the surveys of the two sites within three weeks. The City will retain the surveyor for the duration of the bond projects, in case supplemental survey services are needed.

CSAA presented preliminary design concepts for the fire station, community center and both public works buildings to the City Commission at its Aug. 13 meeting. CSAA sought input from the City Commission to get an understanding of its vision for the projects.

The design concepts were used as a starting point for discussion, and are not what the final building designs will look like.

After viewing the different concepts, it was the consensus of the City Commission that the new fire station should be a “gateway” to the city and that the character of the building should carry through to the new community center.

Based on the feedback CSAA got from the City Commission, the architects will revise the designs and come back to the City Commission with new ones, which will be an ongoing process.

Completion of the bond projects is currently anticipated to be in March of 2022, but this is subject to change as the schedule will be further refined once the construction manager is hired.

The library build-out would be the first project to be completed, and currently has an expected finish date of May 2020, with construction taking about 90 days.

Gallo Herbert Architects was hired in April to serve as the City’s representative, and to oversee the construction of the new fire station and community center.

For more Lighthouse Point  news and things to do in LHP area read Lighthouse Point magazine and search our website.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery interval=”3″ images=”9137,9138,9139,9140,9141″ img_size=”large”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”9141″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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This post was prepared by staff at Point! Publishing. For inquiries call 954-603-4553.

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