Earth-moving machines are busy on the construction site off Jeffco Boulevard in Arnold where the Rock Township Ambulance District will relocate one of its houses, and work is set to begin soon on a site at Konert and Romaine Creek roads in unincorporated Fenton where another house will be moved.
The district is relocating House 1 from its current site at Lonedell Road and Astra Way Drive in Arnold to the 2.1-acre site off Jeffco near Hickory Square subdivision, just behind the Family Video store in Arnold.
In addition, the district will move House 2 from Hwy. 21 in the Shady Valley area to a 13.8-acre tract in the Fenton area.
Rock Township officials say relocating the two existing houses will better serve the district’s changing demographics.
Together, the two projects will cost about $5.4 million, including the purchase of the two parcels of land, and will be funded with revenue from a $23 million bond issue district voters approved in November 2018, Rock Township Chief Jerry Appleton said.
Appleton said the COVID-19 crisis put the project in the slow lane for a few months, but it’s back up to speed now.
“We anticipated breaking ground around the end of March,” he said. “COVID has cost us some delays, but we’re targeting a June 20-21, 2021, move-in date for both houses.”
Brockmiller Construction in Ste. Genevieve is serving as the general contractor for the project.
House 1
Rock Township bought the site off Jeffco for the new House 1 for $130,000 in July 2019, Appleton said.
The current House 1, which is across Hwy. 141 from the Arnold Recreation Center and Jefferson County Library complex, was built in 1992.
Appleton said Rock Ambulance is working hard to be a good neighbor in its new location.
“We had a meeting in late fall last year with the residents at Hickory Square to get feedback and to let them know what we were going to do,” he said. “We got some real positive feedback, and they were very welcoming. We want to be a positive part of the community, and we have made a commitment to be inclusive but not intrusive.”
House 2
The Jefferson County Planning Commission agreed in June to grant two minor zoning variances for the Fenton-area property’s use, paving the way for construction to begin at the new House 2 site, which cost $325,000, Appleton said.
“There’s an ordinance that you have to have 125 feet between driveways,” Appleton said. “They granted us a variance so we could locate the driveway (for the ambulance facility) in a place where there was a better line of sight. It’s only 12 feet or so, but it changes the visibility for us pulling out, and that’s a safety thing.”
The other variance allows the district to forego a retention pond for stormwater.
“It would have required us to disturb the terrain in a way that would have changed the topography and been disruptive to wildlife habitat. The engineers designed some berms and that kind of thing to satisfy the stormwater runoff requirements, and they approved that.
“Now we’re just waiting for the permits to be issued and we can get started over there, too.”
Value engineering
When initial construction bids for the two relocation projects came in above what district officials anticipated, they went back to the drawing board to do some trimming.
“We designed for our needs, but (the plans) had a lot of ‘wants’ in there as well,” Appleton said. “We were able to save about $450,000 over the total project (both houses were bid together). It’s the concept of value engineering – you go back and make changes to things like flooring, lighting, that kind of stuff, so you have good quality but it doesn’t cost as much.”
Appleton said the district tried to balance cost with value for the price.
“You can build a value building that will last 10 years, and then you need to look at remodeling or even a new one,” he said. “Or you do a good quality building that will last 25 years or more.
“We want this to benefit the community in the long term.
“The original bid was right at $6 million for the property and (construction of the) houses; right now we’re at about $5.6 million. So we think we’re looking pretty good.”
Appleton said once the new stations are finished, the district will likely put the original properties up for sale.
“It’s whatever the board decides, of course,” he said. “But I’m leaning toward selling. Neither building would serve any purpose to the district as is; it would require a significant amount of money to refit them for use as anything else. So selling is probably the best bet.”
Rock Township serves a population of about 130,000 and covers Arnold and parts of unincorporated Fenton, Imperial and Barnhart. It has two other houses – House 3 on Prehistoric Hill Drive in Imperial and House 4 on St. Luke’s Church Road in Barnhart.
The district has long-term plans to relocate House 3 to the Telegraph Road area in Arnold, and then eventually the district will add a House 5 in the Seckman Valley area.