Laredo council orders immediate funding search and long-term plan after heat-related failures at Hamilton Senior Apartments

The Laredo City Council on June 19 directed the city manager to identify legally available funds and return with a comprehensive capital-improvement program to address urgent and long-term repairs at the Hamilton Senior Apartments, after council and staff described life‑safety failures including a failing HVAC and elevators.

Mayor opened the discussion by calling the situation at Hamilton a joint emergency and long‑term infrastructure problem. He told the council the building — a historic hotel converted to senior housing — suffers from decades of deferred maintenance and urgent mechanical failures, including an HVAC system staff estimated could cost about $1,000,000 to fully replace.

The mayor said the city had already taken emergency actions: Laredo Fire Department and city staff conducted wellness checks, portable air conditioning units were distributed to affected apartments, temporary sheltering and transportation plans were prepared and apartment‑by‑apartment assessments completed. “These residents are not numbers on a spreadsheet,” the mayor said, urging immediate and lasting action.

Community development staff said procurement for specially manufactured HVAC parts began after council approvals earlier in the year; those parts are expected in mid‑September. Because parts must be fabricated, staff said, central cooling will remain intermittently unavailable until replacement components arrive, so portable units are being sized and installed by certified technicians to provide interim relief.

Daniel Diaz, community development director, said the building has capacity for 165 units and that 124 were occupied at the latest verification; 69 units currently have portable AC devices and 55 remain on the central system. Staff emphasized technicians are checking units and educating residents on usage and energy management to avoid overloading the building’s electrical system.

Councilmembers pressed staff on financing after voters rejected a bond proposition earlier this year that would have funded major Hamilton improvements. Management reported it has invested roughly $700,000 in interim repairs since 2023 and estimated about $5,000,000 in life‑safety needs overall — including two elevators that may cost roughly $1,000,000 each to replace. Staff also presented a short list of immediately critical repairs totaling about $105,000 for lobby/dining room cooling, a cooling‑tower repair, generator work and a booster pump.

After debate about legal constraints tied to funding sources and the 3‑year restriction on certain certificates of obligation following a failed bond election, the council amended and approved the mayor’s motion. The enacted direction requires the city manager to: identify legally available budget sources for immediate and long‑term capital work at Hamilton; evaluate temporary postponement or reallocation of nonemergency capital projects where permissible; present a comprehensive capital improvement program with funding options, priorities, timelines and procurement strategies at the earliest possible meeting; and continue emergency protective measures including wellness checks and portable cooling until permanent repairs are completed.

The council recorded the motion as passed; staff said larger structural or ownership decisions would return for council approval. The mayor and staff emphasized that any sale or transfer options would be considered only after resident protections and necessary repairs are prioritized.