Shenandoah council approves engineering contract for City Hall HVAC replacement

City staff presented a recommendation on Feb. 12 to award mechanical, electrical and plumbing design services for the planned City Hall HVAC replacement to the top‑ranked proposer. Staff said they received four qualified submissions and recommended the local firm (transcript shows both “LEAF engineers” and “Leif Engineering”) based on prior renovation experience and an office closer to Shenandoah.

The recommendation emphasized that renovation experience matters because the building must remain operational during construction. “We need to function in this building while construction’s taking place,” staff told council, noting firms with primarily new‑construction resumes were less suited for the phased work.

Motion and outcome: An unidentified councilmember moved to award design services to Leaf/Leif Engineering Services and another councilmember seconded the motion. The mayor called for the vote; council members responded in the affirmative and the motion carried to approve the award. Staff said they will meet with the selected engineer, define scope and return an estimated design cost to council in time for the budget workshop.

Why it matters: Approving design services starts the procurement and budgeting steps necessary to schedule construction; staff said the design estimate will inform funding conversations at the upcoming budget workshop.

Representative quote: Staff explained the selection reasoning: firms with renovation experience “have an idea of the issues you’re gonna run into versus a new construction” project.

Ending: The council approved the design services award and staff will return cost estimates and scope for council review at the next budget workshop.