Rio Rico Fire District Station 3, planned for the corner of Ruby Road and Pendleton Drive, is to serve the area as a community center, regional training facility and fire station as well as being energy efficient and giving Rio Rico a good return on its investment, Fire Chief Mike Foster told residents during a groundbreaking at the site of the new building Friday.

VIPs at the groundbreaking are, from left, insurance agent Phil Clifton, volunteer Randy Ronald, Arizona Ranger Commandant Armando Madril, County Manager Greg Lucero, Michael Vaughn (Homeland Security), Louis Chaboya (Tubac Fire Department), Architect David E. Sambach, contractor Kurt Boede, Rio Rico Firefighters Union president Jerry Carrillo, longtime RRFD member Bunny Jones RRFD secretary/treasurer Jose Munoz and Rev. Dave Jernigan.

The road to groundbreaking has been a long process, Foster told residents at the event. “In July of 2006, some of you remember, and perhaps attended, a regional planning for a joint regional training facility and our Station Three. We talked about the vision of coming together for a joint regional training facility, which includes law enforcement, fire, EMS and public works all sharing regional resources.”

Planning moved on, Foster said, and led to the process of obtaining a bond for the facility. The bond was successful in the election of November 2007. “The issue of the bond was in April of ’08. We selected the architect for a feasibility study. That’s Dave Sambach. The feasibility study was finalized in October of that year. In January, we had done brainstorming for the construction and selected the construction manager, Lang Wyatt Construction.”

The project is funded with $ 3.5 million of the $3.8 million bond passed by residents. The bond also included monies for training and new equipment, Foster said.

The 12,381 square-foot facility includes four engine bays, an administrative center, training area, community room, public plaza and rooms for six crew members along with a patio, day room, kitchen and dining room for their comfort.

The project, designed by David E. Sambach Architect Inc., is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2010. Lang Wyatt Construction, of Tucson, is the contractor for the project.

The design required considerable forethought, Foster said. “This is going to be a functional living quarters for our guys and gals. We have the need to have a functional station to house the apparatus and do what we need to do to maintain it. We’ve always been asked to consolidate our administrative function under one roof. This will accommodate that as well.”

Training is ongoing for the department, Foster said. “We started at Station Two, but this site was selected because there’s the possibility that we can move forward with that joint regional training plan concept and have a block of land that’s available to help us accomplish that.”

One of the concepts of design included keeping the station community minded, Foster said. “I know, when we first met, there were four things I really emphasized. That was the durability of the building. We expect this to be here 50 years of more.

“We wanted to have it integrated in the local architectural style. We wanted it to be something that everybody will be proud to drive by,” Foster said.

LEED

The LEED�® concept was a consideration, Foster said. “LEED�® is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. There are many benefits to that. Probably the ones that loom larger are the efficient use of natural resources that go along with it and the operational savings. There’s a return on investment on going through a LEED�® certification process that can be tenfold or greater over the life cycle of the building.”

A considerable amount of planning went into the project, said Michael Kothke, lead architect for the project. “A lot happened at the community level and district level in regards to funding, programming and establishing the community need for this station. When they came to us, we had the benefit of working with a knowledgeable client that really had their ducks in a row and considered a lot of variables.”

Planning took several months, Kothke said. “In that process, we were able to work out a lot of the variables and benefits, specifically in regards to sustainability and long-term financial benefits. With the sustainable issues, there’s a really great profit in the rating system set up by the U.S. Green Building Council. They have the LEED �® rating system. It gets all the parties to the table early, so all the interested groups �“ the owner, the consultants, architects and government agencies �“ get together to work out the building systems. By collaborating early, you can identify savings and benefits, so there’s a real effort to get it right from the beginning.”

Sambach Architects have considerable experience with this type project, said David E. Sambach, the company owner. “We have seven or eight buildings of this type, from Benson to Camp Verde. We use a team approach, with many people involved. We don’t work in a bubble. WE expect energy savings measured in hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of this building.”

Those savings are due in part to the sustainable design of the building. Elements of sustainable design include retention basins to manage storm water runoff, a durable standing seam metal roof which reduces heat absorbed by the building, irrigation and landscaping which reduces outdoor water usage, high-efficiency heat pumps, solar daylighting systems, zoned heating and cooling to reduce energy costs, daylight and motion sensors to control lighting, insulated concrete foam systems to provide a high insulation value and low VOC paints and adhesives to contribute to healthy indoor air. All this is estimated to reduce energy use by 27 percent.

Subcontracting to local contractors will be a part of the project according to Lang Wyatt project manager Kurt Lowdy. “During our bidding process, we are going to attempt to use as many local contractors as possible. We are going to be giving preference to local contractors in the bidding process. Currently in Tubac (another project), 40 percent of the contractors are local. This is our plan for this project also.”

The groundbreaking concluded with representatives of Rio Rico Fire Department, Tubac Fire Department, local government, architects, contractors and the Arizona Rangers taking part by turning a shovel of dirt to signal the beginning of Rio Rico Station Three.