Wallace Memorial Fire Department on Foster Mound Road is one step closer to reality.

The fire station which is to be converted from an old district barn is now moving into the &uot;construction document phase,&uot; said architect Sam Mohon of Natchez.

The estimated cost of the project is $109,395. Mohon said his firm looked through previous designs to find cost-saving alterations and may be able to trim $15,000 to $25,000 from that estimate.

&uot;We have saved money but may see it mitigated by market volatility,&uot; Mohon said.

Rising construction costs may eat into the cost savings he said since &uot;contractors are demanding top dollar and getting it because the market is saturated with construction jobs,&uot; he said.

The cost of materials have also skyrocketed, Mohon said, in some instances doubling in the span of six months.

Because of these factors, Mohon recommended to Adams County supervisors that they move as quickly as possible to to get to the bid phase of their project, before costs further escalate.

Supervisors have asked Mohon prepare the necessary specifications to bid the work on the fire station.

Amendments to the original design include removal of additional storage space above the firefighters living quarters and removal of air conditioning units in the fire truck bays.

&uot;In the places where we’ve attempted to make cuts, there are trade-offs,&uot; Mohon said.

The storage areas had been planned for storage of fire fighting equipment, but would require additional expensive structural supports.

With the air conditioning units, the decision was made that the truck bays would likely remain open a majority of the time and would not be efficient use of environmental systems.

Mohon will return to supervisors for approval of the final bid specifications.