Kingfisher city commissioners met last Thursday evening in an informal setting at the Kingfisher Chamber of Commerce office with the new fire station serving as the main topic of discussion.

Commissioners viewed a presentation prepared by Kingfisher Fire Chief Tony Stewart and discussed a recent trip Stewart and City Manager Jim Thomas took to visit with the fire chiefs of El Reno, Weatherford and Guymon regarding their current needs, and to tour their respective facilities.

Stewart and Thomas said they had good discussions with all three chiefs and gained insight into what should be planned regarding the new construction of the Kingfisher Fire Department building that will be built in the future.

Mayor Geoff Covalt and commissioners Dawn Taylor, Debbie Burpo and Kyle Mecklenburg were present for the meeting along with City Clerk Brittney Hladik and City Treasurer Nita James. Commissioner Kaci Farrar was not able to attend the meeting.

Assisting Stewart with his presentation was Ryan Gibson, captain on the Kingfisher Fire Department staff.

Thomas said the purpose of the meeting was to begin again the process of putting together a package of requirements to send to architecture firms who have experience in building fire stations.

Kingfisher voters passed a 10year, half-cent sales tax to pay for the new fire station and other city improvements in May 2021.

Thomas commented that he only “came on board” with his hiring five months ago and during that time he now fully understands the frustration that came with severing ties to MA+ Architecture, the company originally hired to begin work on designing the fire station.

The city in October 2022 purchased the land at 1503 S. Main St. to serve as the location of the new station.

At Thursday’s meeting, Stewart and Thomas agreed they had “good conversations” in depth over the past several weeks and during their drive to tour the three fire stations.

Originally Stewart had asked for a 20,000 squarefoot facility, but the two have now compromised to ask for specs for a 16,000 square-foot facility, which included a second floor to accommodate the living facilities for firefighters on duty.

“We feel like we can save some money by going with a second story,” Thomas commented, stating that square footage costs were usually less for a second story.

After lengthy discussion regarding the urgency to begin the project as quickly as possible, and also regarding the $500 per-square-foot price that had been used for months regarding anticipated costs, Mecklenburg and Covalt both stressed the importance of coming up with a price less than the $500 amount, and to also consult with architects in regards to coming up with a final budget the city could afford.

Mecklenburg said prices for materials were stabilizing and even coming down in some instances and he felt they could come down from the $500 cost.

Thomas said he was hiring a consultant he had worked with before in Claremore to assist him in putting together a new, more defining and specific RFQ (Request For Quotation) that would be sent out to several architecture firms experienced in building fire stations.

Thomas said he felt confi dent that he could be prepared to send out the RFQ by the end of January 2024.

In other business, Stewart said the fire department staff had been busy cleaning out the Glenn Beebe house, which is still standing on the property the city purchased, and showed a video of the inside of the residence while training was being done.