Waltham Considers $10 Million Bid For New Moody St Fire Station

WALTHAM, MA — In another step toward a new fire station, the city council voted Monday to give the preliminary approval to a $10 million bid authorization for the new Moody Street Fire Station.

The Moody Street Fire Station was built in the 1800s, when firefighters drive to the fires via horse-drawn carts. City Councilors say that firefighters tell them on hot humid days you can still smell the horses. For years, the city has talked about how to best upgrade the historic station that they say is severely outdated.

But it's only been in the past few months that the city has made significant strides to that end. The city approved funding $239,000 for the demolition of the Young Building near the corner of Moody and Maple to make way for a new Moody Street fire station late last year. Then, in February a demolition crew tore down the old Young Building.

So far, the project appears to running slightly behind the schedule City Councilor Cathyann Harris and the city and fire department working groups put together. Bids for the construction project were slated to go out in February but went out on April 1. But the funding request was slated for March or April and the city council approved the first reading of the budget request Monday. The timeline estimates construction will begin late spring.

The fire department sent out a request for bids in the beginning of April and three companies responded, according to the fire chief.

"M.O'Connor Contracting inc, was the lowest responsive and responsible bidder," Fire Chief Tom MacInnis wrote in a memo to the mayor asking for $10,149,390 to go toward construction, architect fees and security cameras for the site. The mayor only asked city council for an even $10 million.

Catch up here:

• Young Building To Be Demolished Saturday On Moody Street
• First Look At New Moody Fire Station Project
• New Moody Fire Station Project: City Approves Funds For Demo

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).