Gibraltar council approves emergency replacement of City Hall air-conditioning units

Gibraltar City Council on Friday approved an emergency contract to replace failing air-conditioning equipment at City Hall, citing staff working conditions and risks to the city’s historical museum collections.

Council members took up the special meeting at 1:00 p.m. after the chair said a nonworking unit was creating “material impact” on personnel and that artifacts in the museum were “sitting in heat and humidity conditions that are unacceptable and present material risk.” City staffer John presented competing bids and recommended at minimum replacing ACCU unit five, which he said “is not operational and is beyond repair.”

John said Floor-Air (also shown in the transcript as Flow-Air/Flowair and Floor Air) submitted the low quotes: $7,986 for ACCU five and $7,090 for ACCU four. He told the council that replacing both units at once would reduce the combined cost to $14,670, saving $406 versus replacing them separately. He also reported vendor scheduling differences: one bidder was booked into July, while Floor-Air said it could install as soon as next week if given an order, which staff said supported the emergency procurement.

A motion was made to award the contract to replace both units and was seconded. Clerk Tomasic called the roll on the award: Cutts — Yes; Still — Yes; McNabb — Yes; Schumacher — Yes; Masmer — Yes. The clerk announced the motion carried.

Council members and staff emphasized the procurement timing and the operational risk of delaying replacement. After the vote, the council reopened public comment, heard none, and adjourned. Following adjournment a council member asked whether the work included re-insulating lines; John confirmed that it did.

The contract award covers replacement of ACCU units four and five at City Hall. The meeting record did not identify a named mover or seconder for the motion in an unambiguous way in the transcript; the clerk’s roll-call vote constitutes the official recorded approval. The agenda and action form were referenced by staff but are not part of this transcript excerpt; specific contract documents and purchase orders were not provided in the discussion recorded here.