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Rep. Bricken presses review after sole-source chiller rental at Western Mental Health Institute
Summary
Committee heard that emergency rental and a later sole-source contract for a 400-ton chiller at Western Mental Health Institute were necessary after equipment failures; Representative Bricken criticized the timeline and costs and asked the committee to review procurement protocols; DGS and agency staff cited funding constraints and energy-savings analyses.
The Fiscal Review committee debated procurement choices after Western Mental Health Institute experienced chiller failures and entered a sole-source rental contract.
Angela Jackson, assistant director of legislation and rules for the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, described the emergency: the facility’s existing chillers began failing in early 2024, prompting a July 2024 emergency rental of a temporary 400-ton chiller and a subsequent one-year sole-source rental contract with EZUS HoldCo LLC. Jackson said the emergency rental was needed because other vendors could not guarantee immediate delivery and EZUS offered the lowest monthly rental fee among vendors who could deliver.
Representative Bricken pressed the agencies sharply on procurement choices and timeline. He criticized extended reliance on rental equipment and the decision to sole-source the contract, saying, “We could have bought 2 400 ton chillers that could last the state 25 to 40 years,” and he urged a committee review of protocol so the state does not “burn almost a $500,000 of your operating dollars waiting to get a piece of equipment in place.”
Brian Wilson, executive director of capital projects at the Department of General Services, explained the funding constraints: operational maintenance is the agency’s responsibility and capital replacement must go through capital appropriation processes; the energy-savings (ESCO) analysis with CMTA could, if approved, enable purchase with significant savings. Wilson said the timing and funding path — not unwillingness to act — constrained earlier replacement decisions.
Representative Bricken requested that the committee or appropriate oversight staff review procurement protocols for large equipment replacements; the director agreed to follow up and coordinate among relevant agencies. The committee later approved the requested contract amendment for the rental and related measures.
What’s next: staff from mental health, General Services and the comptroller will follow up with a procedural review and report back to the committee.
