Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By TYLER RALEY | Staff Writer

CHELSEA – The Chelsea City Council approved more than $1 million in renovations to Fire Station No. 32 during a regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 17.

The bid for renovations went to the lowest responsive bidder, Mike Morgan Industrial, LLC, in the amount of $1,253,678. The money put into the project is set to go towards improvements and additions to the building, as well as materials and labor.

Mayor Tony Picklesimer stated how big this was for the fire department, vocalizing his gratitude after the resolution was passed.

“This is almost a $1,300,000 renovation in addition to Station 32 to better serve the citizens in that part of our city, and I’m grateful to everyone who has worked on that,” Picklesimer said.

In the breakdown of the costs, the majority of the funding will be utilized for building improvements, which includes the station becoming all-inclusive, with new furniture being bought and installed. That money is also going towards improved labor and materials as well.

The site improvements on the property total up to $63,322 and will be used in the same nature as the building improvements with $40,000 also allocated in envelope deductions and additions to round out the base bid.

Outside of the base bid amount, $193,975 was considered in deductive alternates, to which only $85,975 was carried out, bringing the total bid down from the original $1,339,653 to the $1,253,678 that was accepted.

Deputy Chief of Chelsea Fire and Rescue Jeff Russell extended his thanks to the City Council for all of their support, sharing his excitement for what is to come with these renovations.

“From all the guys at the fire department to (the) councilors and mayor, we certainly appreciate you guys,” Russell said. “Your commitment to us and the community for public safety, that will significantly enhance our ability to respond to the community in that location. It’s a fantastic project, I can’t wait to see it kick off the ground and we certainly are very appreciative of what you guys do for us.”

In other news, Picklesimer provided a proclamation to declare the week of Feb. 16 – Feb. 22, 2025 as Arbor Week, encouraging citizens to take part in tree planting activities throughout the week. In his statement, Picklesimer also proclaimed that an Arbor Day celebration will be held on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025.

During the Council meeting, the Chelsea City Council also approved a resolution to authorize the renewal of its certificate of deposit with Renasant Bank. The city’s current CD came to an end this month, to which the council authorized the approval of a new seven-month term, which holds a 3 percent interest rate.

Finally, the Council approved the resolution of its acceptance of the fiscal year 2023 municipal audit report, which covers the 2023 financial year for the city of Chelsea. According to the city’s financial director, Wayne Barber, Chelsea received an excellent report for that year, as well as an unmodified opinion, which states that the city complied with the financial standards for 2023.