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$1 million upgrade eyed for fire systems
(by Sue Reid - March 26, 2009)
$1 million upgrade eyed for fire systems
By SUE REID
A recommendation regarding fire-alarm and suppression systems in city buildings was referred back to the safety and public properties committee by Solon City Council last week.
The finance committee is reviewing the $1 million project, which prioritizes recommended improvements and would be broken in three phases. The motion from the finance committee asked for a recommendation from the safety and public properties committee as to what items in addition to those given top priority should be installed in the city properties over a two-year period. The committee thought it best to hold back on those given the least priority.
Councilwoman and committee member Susan A. Drucker said she is hesitant to pay for the engineering costs for those buildings given the lowest priority. "I'd feel more comfortable doing what we have to do," she said. "I don't want to take a functioning system and replace it for the sake of replacing it."
"We have to justify every expense," Councilman and committee member William I. Russo said. "I need more reason to replace items. Let's start with the essentials."
The committee heard input from Jeffrey Pokorny, the city's director of information technology, on the proposed project.
Also present at the meeting was Dale Wheeler, principal of Systech Fire Protection, who authored the evaluation report and basis of design for the project.
Mr. Pokorny said the objective of the project is to create uniformity with the city's alarm systems.
Mr. Pokorny went through the priority order for the three phases, noting that although City Hall is under priority two and not the top priority, the system currently in place there does not provide addressability. If a smoke detector would go off in the building, he said, the alarm company only knows there is an alarm in the building. The proposed improvement would include a code of exactly what type of alarm it is, he said, so that safety forces can respond to the exact location.
"That is very important with a larger building like City Hall," Mr. Pokorny said. "It is important to respond to the right part of the building."
Fire Station No. 1 on Harper Road, which is in priority two as well, has no fire-alarm system at all, Mr. Pokorny said. The concern is if there was a fire there and the firefighters were out on a call.
"I always want any public building to be safe," Mrs. Drucker said. However, she said, she cannot believe that Fire Station No. 3's alarm system would need to be replaced. The building is "pretty much occupied 24/7," she said. "The times it should be unoccupied is very infrequent."
"We still stand by the recommendation in the report," Mr. Pokorny said, "but priority one and two are really something we must do."
Mr. Russo asked Mr. Pokorny to define "beyond a useful life," which is what he stated those systems in priority one are at.
Mr. Pokorny said that means "we can no longer get parts for those systems if they break down."
Priority one includes the city's water-reclamation plant, historical building, Grantwood clubhouse and the Solon Center for the Arts.
Mr. Wheeler said it's his recommendation that priority two, almost in its entirety, should be included as far as in a design package. That includes the police station, Fire Station No. 1 and City Hall. "We do think that in a few years, systems in priority two will get to where priority one is," he said.
"It's smart to have those plans on the shelf," Mr. Wheeler said.
Another option would be to leave everything in but Fire Station No. 1, Mr. Wheeler said.
"It is still occupied by people, and we want it safe," Mrs. Drucker said.
There are no unsafe buildings right now, Mr. Wheeler said, but for those in priority one, they present a situation that the city would have to act so quickly to keep it safe and spend money they would not otherwise need to spend. He said he feels the same with priority two but "it's not as severe."
Mr. Pokorny said he was looking to have legislation prepared to go out to bid for the professional engineering and design portion of the project, which amounts to approximately $45,000. Following the safety committee's review again of the issue, it would not come before City Council until late April.
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