A public meeting was held April 14 about possible remodeling efforts for the Emmaus Borough Hall, the Emmaus Police Department headquarters and the Emmaus central fire and ambulance station.

Borough Manager Shane Pepe ran the nearly 3-hour presentation.

Members of council could ask questions throughout the presentation. No public comments were taken during the meeting.

Emmaus borough’s architectural team, Council Vice President Chris DeFrain and Pepe were the presenters.

These remodeling efforts stemmed from the decision to purchase 33 E. Minor St. with the intention to conduct all operations in one complex. However, price estimates were extremely high for construction and the decision was made to sell the building to Seven Generations Charter School netting a profit of somewhere around $450,000.

After this sale, the borough put out bids for an architect. Additionally, the borough identified the basic needs for each department. Committees were formed for each department and meetings were held to analyze and approve necessary improvements for remodeling.

Council has just completed its schematic design phase. Based on the design work, the council needs to approve to move to design development. So far, the total architect costs have reached $484,200. The initial proposal was for $269,000, but the design for the project has doubled in scope, size and cost.

“This is the beginning of a long process,” Pepe said.

Pepe added there are four additional phases and each phase could take a long time. He also mentioned officials are at an early point in the process, but due to the cost, wanted to be transparent and vet decisions every step of the way.

W2A, the architectural team, presented the building designs.

In an overview, the borough hall design includes replacing electric, plumbing and HVAC systems. The new design provides an automatic fire sprinkler system, the removal of Asbestos and addresses a new main entrance. The new entrance will be a single entrance into the building with access control doorways.

Additionally, the design creates more efficient spaces for the public and borough employees. There will be a new entrance lobby, new public waiting rooms, a public multipurpose room and police storage for bikes and animal control.

Upgrades to the Central Fire Station, 100 N. Sixth St., include many infrastructure updates. There will be new mechanical, electrical, security and automatic fire sprinkler systems. To reduce firefighter and EMS exposure to hazardous materials while in the station, officials plan to add a vehicle source-capture vehicle exhaust system. Plus, the locker rooms will be positioned to minimize the spread of contaminants.

Plans include complete renovations to the kitchen and lunchroom, bunk rooms and locker rooms. An additional garage and a training suite are also planned. Additions will be needed for the building to accommodate all the upgrades, which will enlarge the size of the building. These upgrades will give the ability for a full-time 24/7 department.

Three conceptual plans for the Emmaus police station were offered.

The presentation showed current conditions as overcrowded and lacking storage space for evidence, gear and other supplies. The current garage does not allow vehicles to properly fit. The police vehicles are much larger than past vehicles.

The first plan showed major renovations to the current structure, including closing an alley and connecting the police station and borough hall. The detectives’ offices, locker room areas, lab space, holding areas, evidence storage and the police vehicle garage will all be expanded. Police management offices, a zoning vehicle garage, police storage and a public multipurpose room will be created.

The second plan does not link the buildings together and is a less costly alternative. This plan is an intermediate-level design. This plan would see an evidence room renovation and expansion, which would close drive-thru capabilities. Additional renovations include a patrol room update for shared workspace, police management offices to reduce overcrowding and an outdoor canopy for a six-vehicle garage behind the borough hall.

The third plan was a minimal-level design and the least expensive. This plan does not include additions. There will be an evidence room renovation with a minor expansion. A west canopy will be constructed to facilitate a future evidence room expansion. A six-vehicle garage will be built behind borough hall. The third concept would reserve possible use of the current borough hall garage as meeting room or office space. The final item was the creation of more storage in the lower level of the police station. The remainder remains unchanged.

The design development/construction document phase will begin May 4 and close at the end of August.

The administration phase, where construction bids will be awarded, is anticipated to start in early September and end in early October. The construction administration phase, or overall construction phase, will begin in November with a projected end date of November 2022.

Borough hall renovations will total $2,893,375 to $3,362,000. The costs of the HVAC, sprinkler system, total electrical replacement, total plumbing replacement, asbestos removal, Americans with Disabilities Act compliance and other utility issues will be nearly two-thirds of the total cost.

Renovations to the central fire and ambulance facility will total $2,567,250 to $2,971,250.

Concept one of the police station renovations is estimated to cost $1,982,750 to $2,281,250. Concept two costs a possible $1,128,150 to $1,306,625. Concept three totaled $1,057,150 to $1,219,625.

The additional costs for items presented were furniture and information technology for the borough hall and the central station, communications and information technology for the police department and security systems for all of the buildings.

Other associated costs include engineering consultations, new hires, inspections and monitoring, legal fees, permits, and a stormwater management system. The cost for the stormwater system would be close to $100,000 less if they do not build across the alley.

Temporary facilities to relocate employees, landscaping, hazardous material testing and reporting, hazardous material mitigation, a central station exhaust capture and contingency costs rounded out the overall additional costs. Contingency costs were included to cover unforeseen costs and price changes, specifically rising raw material costs.

Architect fees total $484,200. Construction cost estimates range from $6,517,775 to $8,614,500. The projected additional costs total $2,080,220.

The total cost of these renovations “could be as much as around $11,178,920, depending on how much of the project, if any, that Council decides to do,” according to the presentation.

The total range of projected cost for the renovations is $9,082,195 to $11,178,920.

The next public meeting for the renovation project is scheduled 6 p.m. April 28 via Zoom. A link can be found through the calendar on the Emmaus borough website.

Additional information from this meeting can be found on the Lehigh Valley Press website at www.thelehighvalleypress.com.