The Seaside firehouse, built in 1989, will receive seismic retrofits after a grant from Business Oregon.

The Seaside Fire Department will receive more than $1.7 million and the city’s police department an additional $1.6 million in seismic retrofit grants from Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency.

The goal is for the buildings to withstand an earthquake that will initiate a Cascadia Subduction Zone event, Fire Chief Joey Daniels said. “If the building can withstand the quake, we can get millions of dollars of equipment out,” he said.

The firehouse was built in 1989 at 150 S. Lincoln, as the current City Hall was being built, Assistant City Manager Jon Rahl said. Both of those buildings began operations in 1989.

There are two pieces to the current police station at 1091 S. Holladay. The flat roof building closest to the highway was the original station after moving from the location that is now Seaside Brewing Co. Records indicate that building started in 1977. The current dispatch and administration portion of the police station was built in 1990.

The Seismic Rehabilitation Grant Program provides funding for the seismic rehabilitation of critical public buildings, particularly public schools and emergency services facilities.

According to the grant application, eligible activities include structural improvements, architecture, engineering and project management. The emphasis is on emergency responder buildings.

The seismic advisory committee considers many factors when making funding decisions, Gloria Zacharias, the program’s policy coordinator, said.

“The program has consulting engineers who review the technical assessments submitted with the applications, and the committee attempts to prioritize ‘scary’ buildings, unreinforced masonry, older masonry, older concrete, or very old or wood framed,” she said. “They also consider the seismicity zone the project is located in, along with a benefit-cost analysis. The Seaside projects had vulnerable buildings and high seismicity.”

With WRK Engineers in Vancouver, Washington, the city applied for the seismic rehabilitation grant in November. Services included building site review, seismic evaluation, construction cost estimate and preparation and submission of the grant application to the state.

The awards for the firehouse and police station are based on square footage, Daniels said. Upgrades will include roof replacement on both buildings, shear wall reinforcement and bracing. Projects will be done concurrently and the completion expected in 2024.

The grants fully cover costs and do not require city matching funds.

Previously ineligible for the seismic retrofit grant, the city benefited by a change by the seismic advisory committee in 2018. Prior to the rule change, if a project was located in a known tsunami inundation zone, the project could not apply for funds. After the rule change, a project located in a known tsunami inundation zone could apply after proof of consultation with the state Department of Geology and Mineral Industries.

“We hadn’t been eligible for them in the past because seismic grants were only for people out of the inundation zone,” Daniels said. “It didn’t make a lot of sense — some of us are stuck in the inundation zone just by geographic location. They changed the ruling and stated that we could be eligible to apply for these grants.”

The fire and police departments will continue to work through the retrofit process, Daniels said, although there might be some temporary relocations. Trucks would be moved outside during the day.

Business Oregon awarded 36 seismic rehabilitation grants in June for an overall 2022 award totaling more than $80 million.

Daniels said he anticipates working with Public Works Director Dale McDowell to send a request for proposals out in July. “Then we meet with the architects and whoever we hire as the lead,” he said.