Emergency Services Center ahead of schedule

Construction of Whitefish's new Emergency Services Center is well ahead of schedule, city manager Chuck Stearns told the Whitefish City Council on Dec. 7, and the building should be open ahead of the June 30 scheduled completion date.

"Our allowing Swank Enterprises to begin excavation early and their concurrent construction methods have accelerated the construction schedule," Stearns said.

The architect's estimated cost for the 32,656-square-foot building last fall was $6.6 million, but the low bid from Swank Enterprises, of Kalispell, came in at $5.31 million. Stearns reported there has been $246,854 in change orders since then, or about 4.65 percent of the total.

Funding for the new building came from the sale of about $8.6 million in tax-increment financing (TIF) bonds. The city has also been awarded federal stimulus funding and a Department of Homeland Security appropriation.

"We have not yet figured out how we can use Sen. Jon Tester's $900,000 appropriation, but we do know that we cannot use it to retire bonds or install a firing range for the police department," Stearns said.

Once the federal government completes the authorization, the city will work with Tester's staff and Homeland Security on ways to use the money. One thing Tester's staff does support is use of the money on a renewable energy project, Stearns said, such as solar panels on the Emergency Services Center roof.

According to a report from Mother's Power, of Whitefish, the cost of installing 64 solar collectors to provide energy for heating the fire department's apparatus bay and the building's domestic hot water and to melt snow on the outside concrete aprons would cost $169,055. The cost of installing eight collectors to provide domestic hot water alone would cost $25,420.

Based on an average annual increase of natural gas rates of 0.75 percent, Stearns conservatively estimated the larger solar system would have an 18-21 year payback.

One limitation is that the system would only provide 10 percent of the energy needed to operate the outdoor snow-melt system. The annual cost for the snow-melt system is $32,894, with the solar gain being $3,966, Stearns reported.

"Because of that additional expense and the use of natural gas, which is a fossil fuel and can increase global warming, we would have the snow-melt system shut down when the solar gain is insufficient to melt the driveways," Stearns said. "When solar gain is insufficient to melt the driveways, the driveways would be plowed and shoveled, which will be most of the time."

Stearns also noted that the city's decision to install the solar panels "would show some leadership in the move from fossil fuels towards renewable energy use," he said. "Although we did not go for LEED certification on the Emergency Services Center design, the design strove for many energy-efficient uses, and the city council seemed interested in pursuing as 'green' a building as we could."

Stearns also noted that discussion continues over whether or not the solar panels should be placed on pallets or sleds so as not to penetrate the expensive roof membrane.

Adding up the numbers, Stearns noted that even if the city did not use $67,966 available from city impact fees, $144,859 in federal stimulus money and Sen. Tester's $900,000 appropriation, the city could spend $193,475 installing the solar panels and still have $261,321 of TIF bond money left over.

Noting that a 18-21year payback was a long time, councilor Turner Askew asked if the city could delay a decision on the solar-panel systems.

"We used the last Emergency Services Center for 100 years," mayor Mike Jenson said. "If this one lasts 75 years, I would support it."

Incoming city councilor Chris Hyatt told the council that from his experience, solar panels sometimes last only 20 years.

Councilors Nancy Woodruff and John Muhlfeld, however, said it was an investment for the future, and public works director John Wilson said he didn't know how long the panels would last, but it was not just a financial issue — it was a demonstration project for the community.

Noting how quickly technology changes, councilor Nick Palmer said he didn't think the solar panels were a good idea and asked to table the idea until the new council was seated in January.

That motion and another to tie the solar-panel installation to the $900,000 appropriation were defeated. The council approved spending $193,475 for the 64-collector system. All three votes were 4-2, with Palmer and Askew in opposition.

Also at the Dec. 7 meeting, the city council unanimously approved a resolution that cites state law to avoid competitive bidding and awarded an $80,000 contract to Digital Communications Systems, of Kalispell.

According to public works director John Wilson, Digital Communications is currently installing what's known as 'structured wiring" for the new Flathead County 911 Dispatch Center. This includes connecting and integrating audio/visual, telephone, alarm and radio communications equipment. The company also designed and is supervising the installation of the city's new wireless communications system.

Wilson cited "the unique nature of the Emergency Services Center's structured wiring" and Digital Communications' "intimate knowledge of related systems throughout the city" in supporting the resolution avoiding competitive bidding.

Wilson said none of the Digital Communications work was included in the overall bid. He noted that the county opted to include this kind of work in the general bid for the 911 Center, which resulted in numerous change orders.

"The county thought they knew what they were doing, which led to unintended consequences," said councilor Turner Askew, who sits on the county's 911 board.