Commission approves $336,000 replacement chiller for 20 North after urgent failure

Rutherford County commissioners approved purchase and installation of a replacement rooftop chiller at the 20 North county building after staff described the existing 27-year-old unit as failing and difficult to repair.

Rob (county maintenance) said the unit is 27 years old, hard to source parts for and not an off-the-shelf replacement; the lead time for the vendor27s recommended replacement is about 22 weeks. The county received a single responsive quote from Mechanical Resource Group (MRG), the manufacturer representative for Daikin for this model, and MRG27s quote included installation and crane service.

Committee members discussed whether the purchase would require a budget amendment; staff said the purchase was anticipated in upcoming budget planning but the unit27s lead time meant the expenditure would be encumbered and may be appropriated in the next budget cycle. Commissioners asked staff to coordinate with the budget chairman and county finance staff to ensure the appropriation and encumbrance are handled before full-commission approval.

After review, a motion to approve the bid and proceed with procurement passed on a roll call vote. Staff noted a temporary repair option (a replacement control board for roughly $3,600) could run the unit in the near term but would not fix a gas leak affecting one of the unit27s circuits; using that short-term repair would likely only sustain cooling until the new unit arrives.

Installation was described as a rooftop crane job with minimal roof modification; the selected vendor will handle crane and installation. Commissioners asked for regular progress updates during the 22-week lead time.