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Board of Works tables Johnson Controls HVAC maintenance contract over renewal and termination language
Summary
The City of Lawrenceburg Board of Works on March 2 tabled a three‑year Johnson Controls preventive‑maintenance agreement for the Fire Department HVAC system to allow staff to seek revisions to an automatic‑renewal notice and a 50% early‑termination penalty; the board requested clearer invoices and service logs.
The City of Lawrenceburg Board of Works on March 2 voted to table a three‑year preventive‑maintenance proposal from Johnson Controls for the Lawrenceburg Fire Department HVAC system until staff obtains contract clarifications and documentation. The proposal covers an air‑cooled chiller, two boilers, pumps and an air handler and includes connection to a 24/7 alarm monitoring service; the packet lists the first‑year cost as $17,018 and cites funding from the maintenance line 252571000340.
Mister Cook, who presented the proposal, described the services and referenced a detailed list of preventative maintenance tasks in the proposal. "This proposal includes three years of planned preventative maintenance services for HVAC system there," he said, adding that monitoring and alarm connectivity are included.
A board member cited the city's recent experience under the program and raised specific accounting and contract concerns, including several years of supplemental out‑of‑pocket repair costs referenced during the meeting. The member said the contract contains an automatic renewal notice provision that appears to require 90 days' notice and a termination paragraph that would require the city to pay 50% of remaining service charges if it ends the agreement early. The board member asked staff to seek deletion of those terms: "If you end this agreement early for any reason, you must also pay us 50% of the service charges for the remaining terms of this agreement," the member said, summarizing the clause that prompted the objection.
Staff and councilors also asked for clearer work reports and invoice timing; one board member noted apparent date discrepancies on prior bills and asked Johnson Controls to provide more detailed, consistently formatted reports so city maintenance can log work into the city system and reconcile charges.
Mayor [presiding] moved to table the agreement so staff can request contract changes and answers about specific charges; the motion carried on a voice vote. The board instructed staff to return the revised agreement at a future meeting after requesting removal of the automatic‑renewal and early‑termination penalty language and after clarifying historical invoice entries.
The meeting did not adopt the contract; no dollar transfer or procurement was authorized at the March 2 meeting. The Board of Works will revisit the Johnson Controls proposal once staff reports back with edited contract language and invoice clarifications.
