City staff told the council at the Aug. 18 caucus that the Building Management System (BMS) controlling HVAC at the 911 facility at 75 Bishop Street had failed and become unreliable, prompting an emergency declaration and a contract award to AME Incorporated to install a proprietary Honeywell system.

The administration described the site as housing “the network service associated with 9 11 communication system and the public safety network” and said the previous BMS was “unreliable.” The director said the emergency declaration was signed to move the work forward quickly and that the total contract cost is $79,046. The director told council members a temporary fix is in place and that the contractor could begin this week or next week.

Council members asked what the BMS controls. The director clarified it is the building management system related to HVAC. When asked whether work had already begun, the director said the city had contracted the firm and had signed the emergency declaration to move it quickly: “Right now, we have a temporary fix, but that hopefully we can get them started this week, latest by next week.”

Ending: City staff presented the emergency-expenditure resolution for council authorization; the caucus transcript records presentation and questions but does not record a final recorded vote on the resolution.