The Newnan City Council voted in favor of redevelopment of the fire training facility in the city of Newnan at a higher budget than originally planned.

The council unanimously agreed to the request at their meeting last Tuesday, which involves an agreement with New South Construction to provide Construction Manager At Risk services for the facility.

As part of the agreement, the budget for the project has increased from $1.7 million to $3.8 million. According to city documents, the increases are due to “the greater than expected increase of SPLOST 2019 revenue” and “inflationary pressures on the construction industry.”

On top of that, the fire training facility will be just for the Newnan Fire Department and not for the Coweta County Fire and Rescue Department.

“One might ask, why don’t we share a facility to be more efficient and share costs, and the answer to that is, simply, there’s too much training going on,” said Mayor Keith Brady. “The facility is just overwhelmed, and we need two facilities to properly train the firefighters in our community and the county.”

The Construction Manager At Risk process was selected following the city’s work with 2WR Architecture. The process will allow the city to select a firm that will work with the city and 2WR to complete scoping, design and engineering of the project to ultimately develop a guaranteed maximum price.

According to city documents, New South was selected following interviews conducted by a selection committee of five staff members, including a 2WR representative.

According to city documents, the selection committee picked New South due to its “extensive experience and understanding of projects delivered utilizing the Construction Manager At Risk method, particular experience in constructing similar fire services training facilities and the firm’s realistic approach to the project.”