A mistake in Raleigh has caused a holdup in the loan closing process for the Town of Highlands’ new fire department.
Town manager Josh Ward informed the board of commissioners in November that the town was working with the Army Corps of Engineers and the NC Department of Water Quality to determine the best way to mitigate a wetland area along Franklin Road that is now part of the property for the new fire station.
In order to close the loan for construction, a plan had to be in place to change the drainage in an approved way. That plan was developed and ultimately approved by the Corps of Engineers, but a paperwork error kept the loan closing from happening in December.
“In order to close the loan and get started on the project we need to have approval from the NC Local Government Commission, and for whatever reason they left us off of their December agenda,” Ward said. “They were very apologetic and assured us that we will be on the Jan. 5, 2021 agenda for approval. Assuming that happens we can close the construction loan with BB&T on Jan. 8.”
With the permits to mitigate the wetland in hand, site work could begin immediately after the loan closing. Ward noted that a one-month holdup would not affect the overall timeline of building the new fire station.
“Honestly, even if we would have gotten the permits in place and been approved by the LGC on Dec. 8, its unlikely that much work would have been started prior to the Christmas and New Year holidays,” Ward said. “This way we will be able to close the loan and start fresh in January as the weather allows.”
The new fire station will be located at 149 Franklin Road. The town previously purchased the land and approved a “not to exceed” construction estimate of $6.87 million for the new facility, which includes a $300,000 contingency. The funding for the new fire department was made possible by a two-cent fire tax increase during the 2019-20 budget year.
DR Reynolds is handling over sight of the construction process as the general contractor. The firm has built 27 fire stations across the southeast over the past 13 years.