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Item 1.A.1.
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| City Council Regular | |
| Date: | 02/10/2025 |
| Title: | Billings Operations Center - Rooftop Unit Replacement |
| Presented by: | John Caterino, Facilities Manager |
| Department: | City Hall Administration |
| Presentation: | No |
| Legal Review: | Yes |
| Project Number: | N/A |
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council approve and award a contract for package rooftop unit equipment replacement at Billings Operations Center (BOC) to Air Controls for $568,681.25
BACKGROUND (Consistency with Adopted Plans and Policies, if applicable)
The package rooftop units at BOC are DX cooling/gas heating and the average lifespan of that equipment is 15-20 years. The BOC was built in 2002, and the package rooftop units have reached their end of life at approximately 23 years.
Facilities Division maintenance data does not indicate a high failure rate; however, the existing units are charged with R22 refrigerant, which was phased out by the EPA on January 1, 2020, and is becoming more expensive and increasingly difficult to source. The new equipment that is specified in the bid documents is R454b and R32 which are a more ozone-friendly solution as they have a lower global warming potential than R22. Additionally, the new equipment has a higher efficiency rating, which decreases operating costs.
The package units provide heating and cooling to the office areas at the 4848 Midland Road Administration building and the 4810 Midland Road PD1 Police Barn building. This project includes the removal of existing Lennox units and installation of new Lennox units. The total quantity of units to be replaced is fourteen (14): ten (10) are located at the Admin building and four (4) are located at the Police Barn.
Evaluation of alternate options:
Facilities advertised an Invitation for Bid (IFB) on 11/15 and 11/22/2024 in Yellowstone County News and on the City’s Website. Due to conflicts with scheduling a mandatory pre-bid meeting and attendance, the 12/03/2024 bid opening was delayed. The IFB was readvertised on 12/20 and 12/27/2024 in Yellowstone County News and on the City’s Website. A mandatory pre-bid meeting was held on 01/08/2025 and was attended by eleven (11) firms ranging from mechanical, electrical, controls and general contractors.
Bids were opened on 01/21/2025 and two (2) bids were received. Bid tabulation is provided below with Air Controls being the successful low and responsive bidder.
Base bid is for removal and replacement of package units and alternate #1 is for installation of Reliable Controls. City will accept base bid and accept alternate #1 for both Admin and Barn buildings for a total project cost of $568,681.25. Alternate #1 is a one-time cost and will bring this equipment onto the BACnet Building Automation System that Facilities Division currently uses to manage equipment at various locations.
Facilities Division maintenance data does not indicate a high failure rate; however, the existing units are charged with R22 refrigerant, which was phased out by the EPA on January 1, 2020, and is becoming more expensive and increasingly difficult to source. The new equipment that is specified in the bid documents is R454b and R32 which are a more ozone-friendly solution as they have a lower global warming potential than R22. Additionally, the new equipment has a higher efficiency rating, which decreases operating costs.
The package units provide heating and cooling to the office areas at the 4848 Midland Road Administration building and the 4810 Midland Road PD1 Police Barn building. This project includes the removal of existing Lennox units and installation of new Lennox units. The total quantity of units to be replaced is fourteen (14): ten (10) are located at the Admin building and four (4) are located at the Police Barn.
Evaluation of alternate options:
1. The option of retrofitting the existing units with drop-in refrigerant was investigated but the compressors would have to be replaced in addition to the compressor oil, the units would not perform at the same efficiency level as new equipment, and there is no guarantee the modifications would allow the system to perform as designed and installed.
2. With the discussion about electrification, the engineer also looked into heat pumps but they do not perform well in overly cold climates and would require augmenting with an additional heating element which increases the cost of the project.
3. Do not replace, run to failure, and replace as needed. Replacing individually will cost more versus full replacement and staging one time.
2. With the discussion about electrification, the engineer also looked into heat pumps but they do not perform well in overly cold climates and would require augmenting with an additional heating element which increases the cost of the project.
3. Do not replace, run to failure, and replace as needed. Replacing individually will cost more versus full replacement and staging one time.
Facilities advertised an Invitation for Bid (IFB) on 11/15 and 11/22/2024 in Yellowstone County News and on the City’s Website. Due to conflicts with scheduling a mandatory pre-bid meeting and attendance, the 12/03/2024 bid opening was delayed. The IFB was readvertised on 12/20 and 12/27/2024 in Yellowstone County News and on the City’s Website. A mandatory pre-bid meeting was held on 01/08/2025 and was attended by eleven (11) firms ranging from mechanical, electrical, controls and general contractors.
Bids were opened on 01/21/2025 and two (2) bids were received. Bid tabulation is provided below with Air Controls being the successful low and responsive bidder.
Base bid is for removal and replacement of package units and alternate #1 is for installation of Reliable Controls. City will accept base bid and accept alternate #1 for both Admin and Barn buildings for a total project cost of $568,681.25. Alternate #1 is a one-time cost and will bring this equipment onto the BACnet Building Automation System that Facilities Division currently uses to manage equipment at various locations.
| Admin (4848 Midland) | Air Controls | Empire Heating and Cooling | |
| Base Bid | $388,880.60 | $408,467.00 | |
| Alternate #1 | $12,726.67 | $12,598.00 | |
| Total | $401,607.27 | $421.065.00 |
| Barn (4810 Midland) | Air Controls | Empire Heating and Cooling | |
| Base Bid | $160,049.54 | $199,642.00 | |
| Alternate #1 | $7,024.44 | $6,995.00 | |
| Total | $167,073.98 | $206,597.00 |
STAKEHOLDERS
Stakeholders include
City:
External Parties:
City:
- City Council as approving body
- Facilities Division as Project Manager
- BOC Tenants (Fleet, Parks, Police, Solid Waste, Streets)
- Finance Department if a budget amendment is required
- Facilities Division as Project Manager
- BOC Tenants (Fleet, Parks, Police, Solid Waste, Streets)
- Finance Department if a budget amendment is required
External Parties:
- Engineer - Cushing Terrell
- Contractor - Air Controls
- Contractor - Air Controls
ALTERNATIVES
City Council may:
- Approve the entire project with alternates, which will require a future budget amendment
- Approve only the Barn with alternates, rebid and budget Admin replacement in FY26
- Reject all and provide guidance to staff
- Approve only the Barn with alternates, rebid and budget Admin replacement in FY26
- Reject all and provide guidance to staff
FISCAL EFFECTS
The cost for replacing the equipment will be paid with the Facilities Division Capital account. This project was approved in the FY25 CIP but anticipated to be split over two years at a total project cost of $250,000.
The engineer recommended that we bid the entire project for two reasons:
The Facilities Division has been diligently saving funds for capital investments such as this, and currently has $1.5 million cash on hand for BOC.
If the entire project is approved, a budget amendment will be needed at a future Council meeting.
If only the Barn project is awarded and the Admin project is delayed to next fiscal year, a budget amendment would not be required. However, this may result in slightly higher costs next year for the Admin building project.
The engineer recommended that we bid the entire project for two reasons:
- Economy of scale by combining the entire project
- Receiving more accurate estimates for the total project, in the event we only accept the Police Barn scope
- Receiving more accurate estimates for the total project, in the event we only accept the Police Barn scope
The Facilities Division has been diligently saving funds for capital investments such as this, and currently has $1.5 million cash on hand for BOC.
If the entire project is approved, a budget amendment will be needed at a future Council meeting.
If only the Barn project is awarded and the Admin project is delayed to next fiscal year, a budget amendment would not be required. However, this may result in slightly higher costs next year for the Admin building project.