Early stages of construction of the new fire house have produced one potentially costly hiccup.
“It was related to the depth of the footings in one area,” said First Selectman Henry Tirrell. “There was an unanticipated adjustment once they got started.”
The adjustment required a “step down” footing, a foundation technique where the concrete footing changes elevation in horizontal “steps” to follow sloped or uneven ground rather than keeping a constant depth.
Discussion with the contractor centered on whether the possibility of the problem could have been foreseen and who would bear the cost. The increased cost was originally estimated at $80,000, Tirrell said, but was eventually reduced to $28,000, drawn from the contingency fund built into the $10-plus million-budget for the fire house.
Tirrell said enough invoices have now been generated to apply for the first third—$833,000—of the state’s $2.5 million grant. Money must be expended before reimbursement is received from the state.
The $500,000 federal grant will not become available until the project is finished.