Councilors on Dec. 15 voted to buy specialized dry-ice blasting equipment for Light & Power despite questions about procurement method, tariffs and warranties.

Planning/operations staff (Jose) told the council the purchase is split into two parts to reduce cross-border tariffs: the dry-ice blasting tool and related items manufactured in Ohio (Cold Jet) priced at $61,050 (item d) and the remaining skid components including an insulated blasting tool from SPI Utilities in Alberta, Canada for $94,156.50 (item e). Jose said the insulated blasting tool is “sole source” and the components must integrate to work as a skid.

Councilor Murrah, who pulled the item from consent, said she had not known what the machine was and pressed for details. "I'm glad you did this because I had no idea what this machine was and what we're doing and what we're buying," she said, requesting lifespan and budget-placement information. Jose replied that the equipment will be placed in the equipment replacement fund with an expected replacement cycle of about 15 years and that prior outages tied to dirty switches motivated the purchase.

Councilors raised procurement-law concerns about splitting purchases. Councilor Lieber asked whether the split could violate bidding rules; the city’s legal advisor said an exception exists when a unique provider is the only source for specialized equipment. Jose said the Canadian components would be assembled and installed locally and include staff training. Staff estimated delivery in mid‑2026 and acknowledged tariffs and exchange rates will be assessed when the shipment crosses the border; if final costs exceed estimates staff will provide documentation explaining the overage.

After questions on warranty lengths (one-year on some components, six months on compressors and two years on other parts) and whether routine contracting alternatives existed, the council approved item d (Cold Jet) and item e (SPI Utilities) by voice vote.

Next steps: Light & Power will place orders, track tariff and exchange-rate adjustments and retain documentation of final costs for council review where necessary. Staff said using the equipment in-house over time may be less expensive than contracting the service at roughly $7,000 per day.