The Lewiston City Council will decide the fate of a proposed new fire station after learning the cost to build has increased from $4 million to $6.9 million.
Lewiston Fire Chief Travis Myklebust says the increased cost is due to factors like higher labor and material costs.
The city is planning to replace a 4,600-square-foot fire station at the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Regional Airport with a larger 10,000-square-foot building on the northwest corner of Fifth Street and Bryden Avenue.
Chief Myklebust says the city had planned to pay for the fire station out of its budgets for the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years, that started Oct. 1st and end Sept. 30, 2023. He added that crews would break ground on the project in September or October and the station would be ready by the end of 2023 under the initial plan.
An alternative option would be to halt the construction, wait to see if prices drop and invest $200,000 in the existing location near the airport to cover deferred maintenance
What happens next depends on the city council, which plans to address the matter at its first meeting in May. (Lewiston Tribune)
