Correction: The print edition of the Sounder incorrectly stated that the foundation was poured by Wellman and Zuck Contractors, the company contracted to build the station. The concrete pour was actually done by an independent sub-contractor.

Contractor Dwight Guss has been hired as the Project Consultant for the Deer Harbor fire station, and fire commissioners are already glad to have him overseeing the building process.

Guss, who owns Avalon Construction, will be paid his normal hourly rate of $75 per hour for three hours a day, four days per week to monitor the build over a 22-week period.

The total contract amount is $19,800. Contracts under $20,000 are not legally required to be put out to bid.

Guss has already been on the job, taking detailed notes and photos of each step, and will be submitting reports of his findings to the board.

“It was kind of a calamity the way this thing started,” said Guss, as he described the concrete foundation pour, performed by a sub-contractor.

He said the two workers arrived in a taxi, carrying only their hand tools, on the morning of the pour. They had been unable to bring their vehicle and larger concrete tools on the ferry from the mainland because the ferry terminal does not accept checks as payment for ferry tickets.

Guss said he drove to his own shop to get the tools the workers would need, and warned them that he would have to report if the concrete was spread too slowly, forming “cold joints” that would impair the integrity of the slab. He said the two workers, through very hard work, managed to adequately create the slab.

Guss’ contract will be re-evaluated for any adjustments or extensions at a September 14 board meeting.

The board may also be making some additions to the Deer Harbor fire station plans, thanks to the Wellman and Zuck bid that came in well under budget.

The firm bid $426,562 for the project, leaving unused $173,438 of the allotted $600,000 in levy funds granted for construction.

The board’s attorney has advised them not to spend more than 20 percent over the base bid on additions, which allows them to add $94,000 of that $173,438 to the contracted bid amount.

“Are these changes aesthetic or functional?” asked commissioner Barbara Bedell.

“Functional,” was the unanimous answer from the other board members.

The board discussed paying $47,364 to install concrete instead of gravel driveways, and $9,555 to add shed roofs above station doors. Commissioner Clyde Duke urged the board to use concrete, citing the high cost of maintenance of gravel driveways. Dwight Guss estimated that several thousand dollars could be saved by not using gravel, offsetting somewhat the cost of the concrete. He offered to get three other bids for the concrete work, in order to ensure the most cost-effective installation.

Concrete driveways and shed roofs were in the initial station plan, but when bids came in well over budget the plan was reduced to bare bones for the current bid. The concrete was replaced with gravel as a cost-saving measure, and the shed roofs were delayed as lower priority.

A third change will need to be made due to a minor error on the specifications; for safety reasons the concrete bay slab will need a smooth finish, not a broom finish as specified. This change will cost $1,389.