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City Council Memorandum To: Mayor Hicks & City Councilmembers From: Justin Fortney, Associate Planner Date: July 16, 2012 Item: Monitored Fire Alarm Project Update/Conclusion City Council
Action Requested: The idea to increase safety to residents in mixed occupancy buildings, which was hatched a decade ago has now become a reality. All mixed occupancy buildings in Hastings
are now fully protected or monitored for fires. Background Information: In the early 2000’s, the city had in place Chapter 1306, an amendment to the State Fire Code, which required these
buildings to be equipped with a fire sprinkler system when sold or remodeled. This ordinance was adopted in an effort to raise the level of fire safety to citizens living in mixed use
buildings, as these situations often lead to deaths in cases of fire when not protected. A group of downtown building owners approached the city stating this was an excessive and costly
obligation. With that, a committee was formed to look at possible alternatives. As a result, the City Council passed a replacement ordinance in 2007 requiring monitored fire alarm systems.
Monitored fire alarm systems were chosen as the protection method as they were the most economical type of system that did not sacrifice safety. Even after the City acquired funding
to reimburse owners for 50% of the installation costs there was little compliance. This was partially due to the overwhelming amount of paperwork and restrictive regulations on the use
of CDBG money. To overcome this obstacle, staff put together a large RFP package with the support of the City Council and assistance from Dan Fluegel and the Fire Department to offer
all the buildings as one job to the lowest qualified bidder. This didn’t lessen the paperwork, but it made it more organized and shifted it all onto one contractor and staff rather than
the owners. Staff had also been persistent in applying for CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) money and by 2011 had nearly $108,000. To make this money go further, the City chose
to to administer the program itself rather than the county. In addition, the City declined to take a 9% cut for administrative reimbursement to further fund the project. HEDRA also allocated
about $20,000 to meet the project shortcomings and for ineligible expenses. City of Hastings ! 101 Fourth Street East ! Hastings, MN 55033-1955 ! p:651-480-2350 ! f:651-437-7082 ! www.ci.hastings.mn.
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Last July the City Council awarded the contract for $111,291.47 with Alarm Express who provided the lowest qualified bid for the monitored fire alarm systems to be installed in 27 buildings.
In addition, they were the lowest qualified bidder at $11,200 for an additional 3 buildings that did not meet CDBG requirements. The project was 95% finished by February and completed
in July. Alarm Express is a small employee owned business based in River Falls, Wisconsin. They worked very well with staff and building owners. Alarm Express’s bid, CDBG funds, and
HEDRA’s allocation to the project allowed for the project to be fully funded with no cost to the building owners. Alarm Express’s bid also included 3-years of free fire alarm monitoring.
Council Committee Discussion: None Advisory Commission Discussion: HEDRA will also be updated on the concussion of this project. Financial Impact: The City has had little to no upfront
costs associated with this project. However, there were many hours of staff time devoted to it over the past 10 years. Attachments: None