Committee approves City Hall electrical panel replacement and funds installed fire alarm upgrade

The Finance Committee approved two transfers on May 12 to address immediate safety and maintenance issues at Holyoke City Hall: one to replace an obsolete Federal Pacific circuit breaker panel in the building's sub-basement, and another to fund a newly installed, non-proprietary fire alarm system.

Matt (Matthew Peterson), building repairs and maintenance supervisor for DPW, told the committee that the Federal Pacific panel is known to be problematic and replacement breakers are not considered safe or available; he said the existing panel can fail to trip and presents a fire hazard. The committee approved $5,652.60 to replace the panel with a new circuit-breaker panel and new breakers.

Separately, staff reported that the building's original proprietary Simplex fire-alarm panel failed during testing. The city contracted for replacement with a non-proprietary system (the vendor identified in the packet was Honeywell), which staff said will be less expensive and easier to maintain over time because the city will not be dependent on a single manufacturer and its sister companies for parts and service. Because the alarm system failure required rapid action to avoid a continuous fire watch, the panel was replaced and the committee approved the appropriation by transfer (approximately $29,425 as listed in the packet) to cover the installed system.

Councilors asked whether grants might be available to offset costs for safety-related work; staff said they would check with the DPW grant specialist. The transfers were approved by voice vote.