PENDLETON, Ore. – In October 2014, the City of Pendleton issued a Request for Proposal to replace the Pendleton Fire Station at 911 SW Court Ave. In May 2017, Pendleton voters approved a bond that will replace the aging station with a new fire station located on the western third of the old St. Anthony’s Hospital property.
At the City Council meeting on July 18, 2017 the council unanimously approved the award of a contract for design and engineering services to the MacKenzie Group, located in Portland, Oregon. According to Pendleton Fire Chief Mike Ciraulo, the MacKenzie Group is reputable among fire chiefs telling the council that he hasn’t “heard a bad thing about MacKenzie from another fire chief.”
The author has spoken with other fire chiefs in Eastern Oregon and is pleased to report that no one interviewed has had anything but praise for the MacKenzie Group.
According to the Request for City Council Action submitted by Ciraulo on July 12, the only alternative to awarding the contract to the MacKenzie Group is to “direct staff to issue [another] RFP for architectural and engineering services related to the construction of the new fire station.”
The estimated cost of the contract was $710,000. The contract that was awarded was for $701,891, a savings of $8,109.