County maintenance report flags galvanic corrosion and possible multi-million-dollar heating-system retrofit

County facilities staff (speaker 7, later addressed as Marty) briefed commissioners on persistent corrosion and electrolysis problems in heating loops and domestic hot-water systems across multiple buildings. Marty said stray DC and mixed-metal pipe junctions are driving ongoing metal degradation and offered short-term and longer-term responses. "When do we need to do something? Yesterday," Marty said, urging immediate remediation planning while the county considers larger capital options.

Marty presented recent water-chemistry and metal concentration readings showing copper at about 0.04 parts per million (versus a 0.3 ppm max cited), raw-water cooling-tower concentrations near 0.11 versus a 1.03 max, and hydraulic-loop readings around 0.19 versus 1.3 max — numbers Marty said are being kept well under thresholds due to regular treatment. He recommended a remediation action plan: isolate electrical conduit from piping, install dielectric unions at dissimilar-metal joints, insulate pipes, and adjust water chemistry through regular testing and tower flushing.

Commissioners questioned whether to consolidate boilers or replace the entire hydraulic loop. Staff said a 2021 estimate for similar work was roughly $700,000 but that a full replacement or retrofit could cost substantially more today; one commissioner estimated that number could be in "the 2 to $2,500,000 range." Staff proposed pursuing condition assessments, requesting bids or RFPs, and establishing annual maintenance and inspection agreements with certified HVAC/boiler contractors before recommending large capital expenditures.

The board directed staff to collect additional condition data and return with costed options and procurement recommendations; no formal vote was recorded in the transcript.