Low bid for FM fire station at $5.79 million

FORT MADISON – Bids for the new Fort Madison Fire Station were opened last week by Fort Madison fire officials.
The bids are scheduled to be voted on at the next Fort Madison City Council meeting on Tuesday, December 2nd at 5:30 p.m.. 
SG Construction out of West Burlington, Iowa came in with the lowest bid at $5.79 million with a Des Moines company, Graphite Construction, right behind at $5.84 million.
Fort Madison’s Schickadanz Construction came in $6.16 million. Bi-State Contracting of West Burlington had the third lowest bid at $5.99 million.
Engineering estimates had the building projected at just over $6 million. The project received nine bids.
Fort Madison residents approved a $12 million bond to allow the city to borrow the money for the project. Since that time, the design for the building was scaled back to exclude original plans for ambulance space due to the county opening a new Lee County Health Department/EMS facility at the Meller Family Health Center this year.
New plans reduced the cost to less $7 million.
Groundbreaking on the new facility is set for Dec. 3 at 2 p.m.