By Robert Taylor
City Council approved a resolution at the April 9 meeting for the City of Boerne to begin working with a firm on the design for Fire Station No. 2.
The new fire station will be located on Esperanza Boulevard just off Highway 46 and will serve the eastern portion of the service area.
Fire Chief Manuel Casarez presented the $1.36 million agreement with firm Hoefer Welker to council, which approved the resolution 5-0. The funding for the agreement is included in the current fiscal year budget. Watch the presentation to council.
“Hoefer Welker came qualified and highly recommended from a lot of fire chiefs in the area and beyond,” Chief Casarez said. “We did our due diligence of asking around at different fire stations they’ve done in area, including Comal County, Hays County, and Montgomery County.”
A committee of staff from the Fire Department, Engineering and Mobility, Permitting and Code Compliance, and the City Manager’s Office reviewed submissions from 13 firms that responded to the City’s request for quotes and narrowed the list to six for interviews.
Chief Casarez said the firm stood out to the committee with its culture of collaboration and alignment with City values. They also have all the consultants in-house, which fosters more effortless communication throughout the project.
“All those consultants are under one firm. There are no handoffs and there was no worry that we were going to have miscommunication between consultants, whether it’s civil engineering, mechanical engineering, or landscaping,” Chief Casarez said. “They all talk to each other very regularly and have good processes in place, so that really gave us peace in this decision.”
The timeline for Fire Station No. 2 includes the 8-10-month design phase, which will begin soon with Hoefer Welker.
After design is complete, a two-month bidding process for construction firms will begin. Once the construction firm is selected, the City anticipates a 12-month construction phase with a targeting grand opening in early 2026.
The City of Boerne has been steadily increasing firefighter staff over the last few years in preparation for the new Fire Station No. 2. Likewise, a new pumper truck has been ordered and is slated for arrival at the time of the station’s opening.
