As work on Mount Prospect's new fire station shifts from design to construction, the cost of building the headquarters at 111 E. Rand Road may be exceeding early estimates.
Although a final construction budget isn't expected until March, initial forecasts are putting the project about $433,000 over budget, according to Mark Rysavy, the village's deputy director of building and inspection services.
Rysavy said the numbers are a reflection of contractors being "safe" in the budget figures they are providing.
"We are over budget, but it's nothing that can't be handled," he added.
He suggested a series of cuts that would not affect operations to bring costs back within budget. They include reducing the number of sound control panels in the apparatus bay; reducing the radiant heat in the slabs both inside and outside the building; reducing the amount of ceramic wall tile in the bathrooms; relying on diesel rather than natural gas for its generator; and installing one monument sign, located at the Rand Road entrance, instead of two.