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Board presses contractors on aging HVAC systems, asks for contracts and cost estimates
Summary
Contractors representing Bel Air and related firms briefed the board on chiller, tower and HVAC repairs, recommended immediate attention to variable-frequency drives and tower cleaning, and said spare parts and maintenance contracts could reduce emergency repairs; board asked for existing contracts, written estimates and a maintenance plan.
Board members spent a substantial portion of the meeting discussing district facilities after Climate Tech did not attend; contractors from Bel Air and others described recent repair work, outstanding OEM parts and maintenance options.
Contractor briefing and operational issues: A contractor explained that several cooling-tower drives (VFDs) are in bypass and that as the weather cools the manual adjustments will be harder to manage. "You have 4 drives that controls the towers, and right now, they're in bypass," the representative said, adding that spare parts for a Daikin machine were on order and that one chiller was running while the other awaits parts.
Spare-part strategy and lead times: The contractor said the Daikin parts are OEM and have lead time; the district had previously kept spares for some failed components, and the speaker recommended repairing one spare and obtaining a new part so a spare is always available. "We would make it really look at and say, hey... this is what we really recommend," one contractor said when asked about replacement versus repair decisions.
Maintenance contracting and costs: Board members asked whether the district has a standing maintenance contract; contractors said prior preventive-maintenance contracts existed but faded and that current arrangements had contractors responding as-needed. The quoted straight rate for service work was described as $121 per hour with overtime at 1.5x and Sunday double time; contractors said they could negotiate lower hourly rates under a formal maintenance contract with scheduled inspections and prioritized work. Contractors recommended quarterly inspections and offered to assemble a prioritized list and cost estimates for one- to three-year maintenance budgets.
Board requests and next steps: Members asked for copies of existing contracts (Climate Tech and Bel Air), asked the contractor to provide written timelines and estimates, and requested the district produce a prioritized maintenance budget and report on which equipment must be addressed immediately. The presenter and board agreed that drives and cooling-tower cleaning were top priorities to reduce the risk of future emergency repairs.
No formal spending motion was taken during the presentation; board members asked staff to return with contract documents and estimates at a future meeting so the board could evaluate maintenance contract options and budget impacts.
