Celina City Council discussed the budget for Fire Station No. 4 at its meeting July 8. No action was taken on the item though council gave feedback on the latest design for the proposed fire station. It is expected to cost $11.3 million to build.
The details
City staff needed feedback from the council on the fire station design because the cost was over the originally proposed construction budget of $9 million.
Fire Station No. 4 is meant to provide coverage to residents located on the east side of the city. It will sit on the south side of Punk Carter Parkway, east of the Bluewood subdivision and adjacent to the new police station in Celina.
The facility will be on about 2 acres of the 23-acre emergency services campus.
The proposal includes a 15,725 square-foot facility with three bays, a training tower and individual dorms.
What happened?
Kimberly Brawner, assistant city manager, presented the current design plans for the fire station at the July 8 meeting, along with potential cost-saving measures. The training tower could be removed to save $250,000 on the project, for example, Brawner said.
Overall, the council’s feedback was to proceed with the latest proposed design.
“I’m not interested in cutting corners on a fire station,” council member Eddie Cawlfield said.
Council member Wendie Wigginton said Fire Station No. 4 could be a model for future stations in Celina.
“I’m hoping this fire station is going to serve as a footprint for the future so we can reduce design and engineering costs associated with fire stations No. 5 and beyond,” she said.
The background
In 2024, council approved $9 million in funding for the construction of the fire station. The council did not have the final design of the station at the time.
Brawner said there is money in the budget to pay for the additional costs associated with Fire Station No. 4 if council approves a funding reallocation for the project at a later date.
Fire Chief Shawn White joined the city later that year and reviewed the originally proposed design for the station, according to city documents. He made several suggestions for changes to the design, which increased the projected construction costs by about $2.4 million.
