Bronson was given permission Tuesday by the Levy County Commission and Florida Department of Transportation to use this driveway at the Agriculture Extension Center for the new fire house. The Levy County Road Department can be seen on the opposite side of U.S. 27A. Photo by Terry Witt.
By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Bronson is almost ready to clear land for construction of a $900,000 fire house off U.S. 27A.
The final challenges in the project were met on Jan. 21 when the Levy County Commission agreed to share its northern driveway at the Agricultural Extension Center with Bronson Fire Rescue.
The wooded fire house property adjoins the agriculture center parking lot on the north side.
Cindy Dunkle, engineer for the District 2 Florida Department of Transportation in Chiefland said DOT has agreed to a joint-use driveway with the Ag center as the safest and most economical highway access for fire trucks.
The agriculture center is located directly opposite of the Levy County Road Department, but Dunkle said traffic generated by the fire station would have a “minimal impact to the county property.”
She said DOT wasn’t interested in a building a new median opening on U.S. 27A for access by Fire Station traffic. DOT also rejected the town’s request to construct flashing lights similar to the lights on U.S.27 north of Williston at CR 335A that flash when motorists are approaching.
“When the fire trucks come out, the lights would flash,” said Town Clerk Shirley Miller.
At the request of county commissioners, Dunkle agreed to conduct additional research the issue of the flashing lights.
Bronson Fire Chief Dennis Russell made an appearance at the county commission meeting to support DOT’s position for joint use of the Ag center driveway.
When Russell returned to the Bronson Town Council meeting later that night, the board voted to hire LMC Steel Buildings of O’Brien Florida to construct the fire house. LMC was selected by a town committee as having the best construction proposal.
The town issued Requests for Qualifications (RFQ) from companies that possessed the ability to design and build the fire house. The three companies that responded were Gray Construction of Trenton, Scorpio out of Gainesville and LMC. All three gave earlier presentations to the advisory committee. LMC scored 375 points, Gray Construction 349 points and Scorpio 336 points.
The town opted not to advertise for competitive bids.
Money for the project was provided by a special appropriation of the Florida Legislature. The town has requested an additional $900,000 from the 2020 legislature.
LMC will construct a fully functional fire house with the available $900,000. The town has asked LMC to design the building in a way that would allow additional bays to be added if the Legislature appropriates more funding this year.
Miller said the town will obtain quotes for surveying and clearing the property as the first step toward construction.
Sewer Project Awarded
Council members reviewed two bids from contractors hoping to build a sewer line project on Virginia, Partin and Margaret Streets. Commercial Industrial Corp. was low bidder at $650,781.60. Worth Construction and Development Inc. bid $726,884.52.
Mittauer and Associates, the town’s engineering consultants, will review the low bid to ensure the math is correct.
The project, which involves removing septic tanks, installing sewer lines and a new lift station and paying for the connection to 12 homes in the low income neighborhood, is being funded with a $650,000 Community Development Block grant from the state’s Department of Economic Opportunity.
Miller said the entire grant process was finished before she ever became clerk. Involved in the process was the grant writer, Fred Fox Enterprises, Florida DEO and Mittauer and Associates.
“The years of data they collected before reaching that decision is daunting,” Miller said.
The grant pays for connection of sewer lines to homes due to the expense. Miller said residents in the neighborhood wouldn’t be able to afford a big connection expense.
Training Approved
Curtis Stacy, the new public works director for Bronson, was given the green light by the council to attend a Maintenance of Traffic training course on Feb. 25-26 at a cost of $125.
Melisa Thompson, deputy clerk, was authorized to attend a Fred Pryor Excel course in Gainesville on March 31 at no charge. Unlimited seminars are available with an annual renewal of $299.
Vacating Dirt Street
Council members voted to vacate the unused portion of Lake Street, a dirt road right-of-way that has never been used as a road. Owners along the vacant road want to clear the dirt path of debris to ensure good drainage.
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Town of Bronson Regular Meeting January 21, 2020;Posted January 25, 2020
