Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Campbell council authorizes $406,792 emergency contract to replace failed chillers at community center
Loading...
Summary
The City Council approved an emergency contract not to exceed $406,792 with Environmental Services Inc. to replace two failed chillers at Community Center Building A (leased to Da Vinci Academy). Staff cited a 20–24 week equipment lead time and funded the work from the city's operations reserve.
The Campbell City Council on Dec. 25 authorized an emergency contract with Environmental Services Incorporated (ESI) not to exceed $406,792 to replace two failed HVAC chillers at Community Center Building A, which is currently leased to Da Vinci Academy.
Public Works Director Amy Elaine told the council the chillers finally failed in August 2025, causing sharply increased temperatures and degraded indoor air quality that required temporary swamp coolers. "The price for the equipment and labor service for the two chillers is $407,000 with a very long lead time of 20 to 24 weeks," Elaine said, and recommended staff proceed immediately with equipment orders and award an emergency contract, dispensing with formal bids as allowed under Campbell Municipal Code provisions cited in the staff report.
Finance Director Nora Voss said the funding would come from the city's operations reserve. "On an annual basis we have an operations reserve that's set at $1,000,000 that is typically used for unbudgeted expenditures," Voss said, adding that the city replenishes the reserve at the close of the fiscal year if funds are available.
A Campbell resident, Steve Saunders, spoke during public comment and urged the council to review the growth of building-maintenance accounts and be transparent about where the $400,000 allocation came from. "What about the magic money?" Saunders asked, saying the account had large, irregular deposits and suggesting the city audit patterns of emergency expenditures.
Council members expressed support for the emergency procurement while noting concerns about aging capital infrastructure. One council member said the city will address capital needs in a forthcoming study session early in 2026 and urged a strategic approach rather than repeated "band-aid" fixes.
The council voted to approve the staff recommendation and authorized the city manager to execute the agreement; the roll call showed the motion passed by majority vote with no recorded abstentions. Staff will place the equipment order and proceed with installation, with an expected arrival and installation window extending into mid-2026 because of supply lead times.
The manager was authorized to execute the contract and the finance director was directed to make the necessary budget adjustments to allocate $406,792 from the general-fund reserve to the public-works building-maintenance budget.
