Rialto council approves fire station projects and $1.2 million fire apparatus maintenance contract
Three fire-related items passed 5-0 on Sept. 8, including oversight of repairs to Fire Station 201, which a vehicle struck in 2024, and private sleeping rooms at Fire Station 204.
The Rialto City Council approved three fire-related spending items on Sept. 8, each on a 5-0 vote, according to minutes posted with the council's Sept. 22 agenda.
Fire Station 201 repairs
The council approved a $228,848 agreement with Milestone CM Consulting LLC for construction management, inspection and materials testing on the Fire Station 201 Interior Improvements Project (file 26-0491).
Fire Station 201, at 131 S. Willow Ave., is the department's headquarters. A vehicle struck the west side of the building on May 11, 2024, and entered the living and kitchen area, the staff report says. Fire sprinkler components were damaged and released water.
No fire staff were injured, and the station has kept operating, according to the report.
The council awarded the $1,160,417 repair contract in June to R Dependable Construction Inc. The contract allows 140 working days.
The city's insurer has confirmed $904,589 toward the interior repairs and $212,664 toward construction management and inspection, the report says. About $16,184 of the Milestone agreement is tied to work unrelated to the insured loss.
Three of the city's on-call firms declined to propose on the oversight work, according to the report.
Dormitories at Fire Station 204
The council awarded a $358,000 contract to Estate Design and Construction Inc. for the Fire Station 204 Dormitory Improvements Project (file 26-0517). Eleven bids were received, against an engineer's estimate of $400,000.
Fire Stations 203 and 204 have open dormitories from the 1990s, with only partitions and curtains as dividers, the staff report says. The project would build individual sleeping rooms.
The report ties the work to recruiting. It says women make up 7% of firefighters nationally and that dormitory layouts providing privacy are one way to attract and retain recruits.
A separate $34,344 agreement with Milestone covers inspection and labor compliance. The report estimates the project's cumulative cost at about $392,344, paid from the Capital Fire Protection Fund.
Apparatus maintenance
The council approved a three-year agreement with Kalmikov Enterprises Inc., doing business as Fire Apparatus Solutions, for preventive maintenance and repair of fire apparatus (file 26-0559).
The contract is capped at $400,000 a year, or $1.2 million over the initial term. Two optional one-year extensions could bring the total to $2 million.
The prior agreement had an annual cap of $300,000, the staff report says.
Fire Apparatus Solutions, at 1762 S. Sycamore Ave. in Rialto, has serviced the department's fleet since 2013, according to the report. The city received two proposals, and the Purchasing Division found one of them non-responsive.
The agreement requires a maximum three-hour response for emergency repairs, the report says.
Other business
Speakers during public comment raised concerns about immigration enforcement near schools, the minutes say. Police Chief Kling told the council that a 2017 state law, SB 54, restricts local police from assisting federal immigration enforcement.
A resolution on an industrial disability retirement was pulled from the consent calendar and tabled at staff's request.