Commission approves $1.2M‑ish HVAC replacement for Ottawa City Hall; single bidder selected

The Ottawa City Commission on Oct. 1 approved the City Hall HVAC replacement project after staff recommended selecting the lone RFP respondent.

Director Summers told the commission the building’s original 1980s HVAC equipment is overdue for replacement: “the refrigerant we use is obsolete, and the pneumatic control system is really limited,” Summers said. The RFP opened Aug. 4 and closed Sept. 11; the city received a single proposal from BCI Mechanical. Summers said the city included the project in the 2022 general obligation bond package and that accumulated interest earnings and savings from other bond items allow the work to proceed despite the vendor’s price running about $200,000 higher than the prior estimate of about $1,001,000.

Brandon Livingston, who spoke for the contractor, described the planned system: new VAV dampers, direct‑digital controls (DDC) and an Internet‑based interface so staff can monitor zones, plus a packaged chiller using a chilled‑water/glycol loop that retains refrigerant outdoors. Livingston said newer refrigerants proposed for the project (R‑454B or R‑32) have mild flammability characteristics that are more easily managed in a packaged outdoor chiller than in split‑system indoor coils.

Commissioners questioned past maintenance costs; staff reported service and maintenance spending last year of $31,488 (not all exclusively HVAC) and a projected roughly $29,000 for the current year. The motion to approve the recommendation to select the contractor and proceed with the project passed on a roll‑call vote with all present commissioners voting yes.