$547K architect contract approved for new south Apache Junction fire station

By Richard Dyer
Mail | X: @RHDyer

An architect will be paid nearly $550,000 for work including adapting a Daisy Mountain Fire Station No. 144 design into a new 11,000-square-foot fire station for Blossom Rock in south Apache Junction.

Daisy Mountain Fire and Medical covers a community of 65,000 residents north of Phoenix and east of Interstate 17. It includes the communities of Anthem, Black Canyon City, the town of Cave Creek, New River and Desert Hills, it states at https://www.daisymountainfire.org.

Using an existing fire station design will save the Superstition Fire and Medical District more than $300,000, Fire Chief John Whitney said at the fire district board of directors’ Feb. 18 meeting.

“(W)e went for a site-adaptive plan, meaning they’re taking plans from another fire department with their approval and we are adapting them to the site and location of ours. That is going to save us $300,000 to $400,000 in this process... That’s how we are approaching the fiscal conservancy of this,” he said.

The SFMD board of directors on Feb. 18 voted unanimously to approve a $547,952.60 agreement and fee proposal with Perlman Architects.

Perlman Architects was chosen following a request for qualifications, Whitney said.

“We did go out for bid. We went through a fully functional RFQ process to select our architect. We went though that, numerous meetings, numerous scoring matrixes, etc.... So we went through that process,” he said. “We ended up selecting an architect that is very familiar with fire station construction that deals with mixed-use spaces that require living and working areas, that have hot zones/cold zones, that are (National Fire Protection Association) compliant, that deal with all of the complexities and uniqueness of fire stations.”

The scope of basic services/fee includes the following work phases: pre-design/programming, schematic design, design development, construction documents, planning and permitting processes, and construction administration (inclusive of warranty follow up), Perlman Architects Director Gerrald Adams wrote in a letter to the fire district.

The project includes a 11,000-square-foot single-story fire station with a 3,600-square-foot covered canopy/trellis structure constructed on the northwest corner of Flat Iron Trail and Warner Avenue, a Perlman Architects document states.

The architect’s scope of work and associated fee proposal for Fire Station No. 266 is based on SFMD’s requirements, applicable building and fire codes, and the unique operational needs of a modern emergency response facility, SFMD Administrative Services Director Anna Butel wrote in a memo to the board.

The scope includes apparatus bay design, decontamination and clean/dirty zone planning, living quarters and site considerations such as secure access, circulation, and stormwater management, she said.

“The fee has been developed using an estimated construction budget, anticipated project complexity, consultant coordination requirements and the projected timeline, and reflects the level of professional staffing and oversight necessary to deliver a code-compliant, durable and operationally efficient facility that supports long-term community needs,” she said.

The district, which is primarily funded by property taxes, provides fire suppression, fire prevention, wildland protection, advanced life support, rescue, extrication and medical transportation services out of five fire stations in Apache Junction and Gold Canyon.

SFMD board meetings are generally held at 5:30 p.m. the third Wednesday of the month at the SFMD Administrative Office, 565 N. Idaho Road in Apache Junction. Agendas are at https://sfmd.az.gov.

Richard H. Dyer can be reached at rdyer@iniusa.org, or on X @rhdyer. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines, https://www.yourvalley.net/civility-checklist/.

Richard Dyer
Managing Editor | East Valley

rdyer@iniusa.org

Meet Richard
Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.  

Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions. 

Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.

Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.

Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.