City Hall HVAC System Costs Lower Than Anticipated

Bids to upgrade the Cookeville City Hall HVAC system came in lower than projected.

“We’re in good shape on paying for all these improvements based on what we originally estimated,” City Manager James Mills said. “We were pleased with the bid that we got.”

The low bid of $517,200 bid on a variable refrigerant system came from CHC Mechanical. The bid includes a one-year maintenance agreement on the system. Some $18,000 of the bid goes to installing new dropped ceilings and new LED lighting around city hall. Installation of the new system, Mills said, will require in some places removal of old fixtures and hardware.

“We figured that would be much better for them to do than our personnel have to do,” Mills said.

Three local firms bid on the project. Mills suggested the council waive the performance bond in the bid, since all three bidders were prominent local firms. The bid includes a $5,000 contingency for any overruns.

Cookeville City Council will vote to approve the bid Thursday night.

At Monday’s work session, Mills informed council members that bids on the new police department will be considered at the first July meeting. Mills said officials had hoped to explore the bids this month, but the bids need some refinement. The city’s new fiscal year budget includes the issuance of bonds to pay for the new station.