Commissioners approve $86,189 emergency chiller replacement for adult probation building

Polk County Commissioners Court on May 13 ratified emergency procurement steps and approved replacement of a failed chiller at the county’s adult probation facility, authorizing $86,189 for the work and citing the unit’s sudden catastrophic failure.

County staff described a timeline: a contractor initially recommended bypassing a faulty float switch to get the system running after a March failure; the chiller experienced additional faults and a subsequent catastrophic failure when a heat exchanger ruptured, and a manufacturer agreed to cover half of the repair cost. Because the failure made the system’s long‑term reliability uncertain and summer was approaching, the county described the replacement as urgent.

Maintenance staff said they published a bid packet on April 21 and solicited bids with May 6 due dates; staff asked the court to ratify advertising the bids because the need qualified as a public necessity under the county’s interpretation of Texas local government procurement provisions. The court ratified the decision to advertise the bids.

Staff then presented bids and recommended a local firm that could start promptly; county staff said one lower bid came from a Conroe firm but that firm could not start until August. County maintenance staff recommended the vendor that could start in May and offered a five‑year compressor and parts warranty.

Commissioner Purvis moved to approve the selected bid for $86,189 with a start date no later than May 23; the motion passed by voice vote.

County staff said the replacement is critical to ensure uninterrupted operations for a state‑mandated function and that the county would use general fund reserves and appropriate budget amendments to cover the cost as allowed under emergency procurement rules.