Riverhead’s new firehouse undergoes second round of costly repairs

Scaffolding went up last month on the Riverhead Fire Department’s Roanoke Avenue headquarters when Riverhead Fire District contractors began extensive exterior repairs to fix leaks around the building’s windows and cupola.

The work will include resealing the exterior of the building, resealing exterior windows, replacement of the window trim and re-setting the cupola, which will be lifted and reset by a crane, the Riverhead Fire District said in a written statement issued in response to an inquiry about the scaffolding. The work is expected to be completed this fall, the district statement said.

Further inquiries were referred to the district manager, who directed them to the district’s lawyer, Allen Smith.

Smith said all work now ongoing was put out to public bid by district commissioners and will cost approximately $353,000.

This is the second time the fire district has undertaken extensive repairs and renovations to its new headquarters, built in 2007-2008.

Smith said prior problems included a leaking foundation, an oil-water separator that had no permits and the need to install a fire door to meet state fire code requirements. Large sections of the walkways and pavement around the building were ripped up during the past year or so in order to make those repairs.

The first round of repair costs ran “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Smith said in an interview this week. He said he didn’t have the precise number at his fingertips.

There are ongoing problems with the roof, Smith said.

“Claims relative to the construction and the design have been made by the district against the general contractor and the architect and have been settled,” Smith said. The district entered settlement agreements with both the architect, Martin Sendlewski of Riverhead, and the general contractor, GII Construction of Wantaugh.

“The terms of the settlement are confidential,” Smith said. “And I’m really not at liberty to say any more.”

While the settlement presumably resulted in payment to the district, Smith said he could not confirm that or make any statement regarding the settlement terms, including whether the settlement covered the cost of the repairs.

Reached for comment, Sendlewski said, “The district and I, basically we have settled any differences we had and we have a nondisclosure agreement, so I’m not going to speak about it.”

He added, “I am not involved with the district at all at this point.”

Sendlewski’s architectural firm specializes in firehouse design and planning. Besides Riverhead’s new headquarters, the firm designed new firehouses for the Coram, Medford, Holtsville and North Patchogue fire districts, according to Sendlewski’s website and has provided architectural services on renovation and addition projects for a host of other fire district entities.

Construction of the new 43,000-square-foot headquarters was funded primarily by $14.7 million in borrowing approved by Riverhead Fire District voters in March 2007.