Buildings and Grounds committee recommends contracts for fire-connection work, HVAC repair, pest control and turf care

The Buildings and Grounds Committee on Feb. 18 recommended council approval of five maintenance and repair items, including a fire-safety upgrade at the Human Services Building, HVAC work for the vehicle maintenance office, a citywide pest-control contract, a vendor-name update on a long-standing purchase order, and an annual turf-care contract.

Committee chairperson Janssen presented the items and called for questions. Staff said the fire-department-connection work follows a fire inspection finding; the recommended work will relocate the connection out of the ground and route it through an above-ground duct to avoid future buried connections. A staff member told the committee the excavation and rerouting is “a very quick project” and “will be dug out and rerouted in a day or two,” and committee members asked whether the work would permanently remove parking spaces; staff said it would not.

The committee voted to recommend council approval of a purchase requisition in the amount of $8,845 to Lee Molnar & Associates Fire Protection for the design and reconstruction of the fire department connection at the Human Services Building. The committee also recommended a purchase requisition of $8,190 to Lisco Heating and Cooling for repair of the vehicle maintenance office heating and cooling system. Both motions carried without reported dissent.

On pest control, Purchasing Director Monica Barkowitz said the city solicited quotes from five vendors and received two responses. The committee recommended council acceptance of a bid proposal from Terminix for $10,198 per year; Barkowitz confirmed the contract is a three‑year, fixed-price arrangement and that the amount is a slight increase from the 2024 annual payment of $10,079.98. Committee members then voted to authorize a name change on an existing blanket purchase order (PO #20251004) from Ehrlich to Terminix following Terminix’s acquisition of Ehrlich.

Finally, the committee recommended council acceptance of a three‑year turf-care services proposal from TruGreen at $7,964 per year, a modest increase from 2024 pricing of $7,049. The committee vote on that item was recorded in the minutes as unanimous.

Why it matters

These items are routine maintenance and safety measures that preserve city property and ensure compliance with fire-safety recommendations. The pest-control and turf contracts lock in multi-year prices for recurring services; the fire-department connection work addresses a fire-inspection finding and is intended to make the connection more accessible for future maintenance.

Committee recommendations will be forwarded to full council for final action; the council subsequently approved these and related items during the regular meeting.