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Council approves proprietary HVAC control upgrade for community center after debate over competitive bids
Summary
After debate and a failed motion to table, the council approved staff’s recommendation to accept a proprietary vendor quote for the community center HVAC control software; one council member had sought additional bids.
John, a city staff member, told the council that the community center’s HVAC control computer system will lose manufacturer support at the end of 2025 and presented a proprietary-system quote that came in under the capital improvement budgeted amount.
“At the end of 20 25, the system will no longer be, 1 that can be serviced, which will could cause, interruptions to the building if this is not replaced,” John said, explaining the city sought to avoid replacing all equipment and sensors by staying with a proprietary system compatible with existing hardware.
Council member Betz (referred to in the meeting as “Ben”) pressed for additional bids. “I think I would like to see us go out and get just a few more bids,” Betz said, arguing that a different vendor might require sensor replacements but could produce longer-term vendor support.
Council member Carrie asked about schedule impacts if the council delayed to solicit more bids: “If we waited to receive, additional bids, what does it affect our timeline?” Staff replied that soliciting more bids would push the timeline back at least a month or two and that the unknown is the reliability of the existing system until replacement.
Betz moved to table the resolution to seek additional bids; that motion failed on a roll call. The council then voted to accept the staff recommendation and pass the resolution to proceed with the proprietary system. Roll call on the final motion recorded Mayor Noel, Council member Johnson and Council member Perez voting aye; Council member Ram and Council member Scharstrom voting no; Council member Weisenfeld voting aye. The resolution passed.
Staff said Eric Forseth, the facility maintenance supervisor, researched options and recommended the vendor; staff advised replacing sensors would likely more than double the cost if the city moved off the proprietary system. John noted the quoted amount was about $20,000 under the budgeted $60,000 in the city’s CIP for the community center control upgrade.
