By DAVE SCHULTZ
That the Bluffton Police-Fire Building on East Market Street needs ventilation work is not a matter of dispute. How to design a system to take care of the problem occupied a fair share of Tuesday night’s meeting of the Bluffton Common Council.
Right now the building has no access to outside air, a situation that is compounded by the need to clean and store firefighting gear after potential exposure to hazardous chemicals in a fire and storage of police evidence which could also present a possibility of contaminated air. Starting up fire trucks in the vehicle bays could also mean problems.
A pair of Fort Wayne companies — Elevatus Architecture, in cooperation with Primary Engineering Inc. — wants to charge the city $50,000 for plans to fix the building’s flawed heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.
Emily Hower of Elevatus and Michael Lubbehusen of Primary attended Tuesday evening’s meeting of the Bluffton Common Council. Hower is no stranger to the building; she was present for many of the Public Safety Task Force meetings concerning the need for a new fire station and expanding the present building into a police station-only facility.
Council member Scott Mentzer spoke to the scope of work which concerned replacement of controls and a limited amount of ductwork. Lubbehusen indicated that more of the ductwork needs replaced than was originally indicated.
Council member Roger Thornton asked Hower and Lubbehusen if they’d be willing to reconsider their companies’ fees for the work.
At the end of the discussion, the members of the council — Josh Hunt, Thornton, Rick Elwell, Mentzer, and Janella Stronczyk — agreed to ask Hower and Lubbehusen to return after reviewing their proposal.
“I want to be sure that the carcinogen thing is dealt with, that the safety of the people is dealt with, that the evidence room is dealt with,” Thornton said.
daves@news-banner.com
