Cookeville To Consider Agreement For City Hall HVAC

Cookeville City Council will vote Thursday to move forward with upgrading city hall’s HVAC unit.

City Manager James Mills said the council will consider an agreement to allow Maffett Loftis to design and prepare bids for the project.

“You can feel it in here right now. You know, we need it. Our system is 50-years old,” Mills said. “We looked at replacing our existing system, and through the process, it was decided the best way to go was with the VRF system, which is more modern and much more efficient.”

Mills said Maffett Loftis will also manage the project once the city selects a contractor.

Leisure Services Director Rick Woods said Monday that it may take a year for the new system to be installed.

“It’s all construction, and it’s all fabricated and made,” Woods said. “That’s something that’s designed specifically for these spaces and then built for these spaces. That installation process is going to be time-consuming as well.”

Mills said the new system should help lower utility costs at city hall, along with new energy-efficient windows.

“Related to this, part of our energy efficiency will come from replacing the windows. We’ve solicited bids for that. We hope to have those due back by the 29th,” Mills said. “I think the energy savings from the windows is almost 25-percent. With the new windows and the VRF system, we should save quite a bit on utilities.”

The city has budgeted $640,000 for the entire HVAC project, but the agreement with Maffett Loftis will not exceed $41,000.