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Council ratifies emergency electrical repairs after power imbalance fried police HVAC compressors
Summary
City authorizes payment to contractors after repeated compressor failures at the police building; city staff say neighboring building added air conditioners without notifying Commonwealth Edison, overloading shared transformers; city will file claims with ComEd and the insurer.
The Freeport City Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2025-69 to ratify emergency electrical repairs to the police department’s air conditioning system and to pay the vendor Morse Electric and other contractors.
Public works staff said repeated compressor failures were traced to an electrical load imbalance on the shared distribution that served the police building. Public works director Darren Steckel and staff said a nearby property (referred to in meeting remarks as the Banks Burgana building) added multiple air-conditioning units without filing a load letter with Commonwealth Edison, overloading the local transformers.
Darren Steckel described the technical finding in the council meeting: “When a lot of electrical equipment in the area would run, it would short the power from the PD. Thus, like de phasing some of the 3 phase motors and and making the motors unbalanced and they would fry the compressors.” City staff brought in a Commonwealth Edison specialist who recommended and arranged replacement transformers; the utility replaced transformers on overtime to stabilize the feed.
Council authorized payment on several invoices tied to emergency work. The first invoice discussed in the meeting — electrical work to stabilize the feed — was about $13,000, but staff warned the total set of invoices for electrical and HVAC repairs could approach six figures once replacements and unit repairs are tallied. Steckel said the city has opened a claim with ComEd and the city’s insurer and will submit all vendor bills for reimbursement.
Why it matters: The police department experienced recurring HVAC failures that threatened building operations; repairs required specialized electrical testing and transformer replacement by Commonwealth Edison. Reimbursement is contingent on the utility and the city insurance process.
What the council approved: The resolution ratified emergency repairs and authorized payment of the presented invoices. Staff said additional invoices from HVAC and generator contractors remain forthcoming and that all will be included in the utility/insurance claim.
Costs and next steps: Steckel told the council the outdoor compressor unit is original equipment and expensive to replace (he estimated a compressor alone could cost about $40,000). The total cost of complete replacement for the system could be significantly higher; staff plan to pursue ComEd reimbursement and an insurance claim.
Vote: The resolution to ratify payment and proceed with claims was adopted 8-0.
Context: Public safety staff and council members thanked public works for the rapid remedial work. Police staff also said the department’s dispatch operations have redundancy to forward calls when the local center is occupied; separate staffing and compensation concerns were raised in public comments during the meeting.
