Discussion and possible action to approve an emergency purchase order for Temprite Mechanical, Inc. to replace Carrier Chiller #3 at the Webb County Jail, in an amount not to exceed $50,850.00, scope of work will include closing off the chiller water valves, disconnecting old chiller and removing from roof and replacing with a new carrier 60 ton chiller and further authorizing the approval of a Discretionary Exemption under the Texas Local Government Code, Section 262.024 (a)(2). [Requested by Sheriff Martin Cuellar, Account #1001-1130-001-431007-010 (Operational Reserve]
Issue: If at any time the chiller water from the Justice Center is not available, the backup chiller #3 at the Jail will be required to provide cooling to the Third floor. That chiller is currently not working and the recommendation is to replace with a new chiller. Both AC vendor and Project manager overseeing the downtown campus HVAC project made the recommendation.
Solution: Authorize an emergency purchase order as per State law and after purchase order is issued to vendor, lead-time is up to 6 weeks for parts.
Result: Backup chillers will be functional and Jail will avoid any non-compliance issues with the Texas Jail Commission in the event of an inspection.
Background:
In addition to Chiller No. 3 requiring replacement, the 2nd and 3rd floors also require preventive maintenance and replacement of parts such as missing belts, misaligned shafts, faulty valves and other cooling issues that need to be addressed immediately. These items were authorized by the Purchasing Agent through a purchase order in collaboration with the Budget Officers authorizing the use of the operational reserve account to address the matter immediately. All expenses related to this project will be reclassified to a building maintenance / repair account within the general operating fund at a later time.