An Appropriation from Free Cash (account 01-324001) to Memorial Building (#693) in the amount of $50,000 for boiler replacement and HVAC controls.
Agenda original PDF
Minutes original PDF
A. (ID # 2026-1171): An Appropriation from Free Cash (account 01-324001) to Memorial Building (#693) in the amount of $50,000 for boiler replacement and HVAC controls. Motion to Recommend made by Councilor Finocchiaro Seconded by Councilor Karamcheti All were in favor and motion passed RESULTS: ACCEPTED [UNANIMOUS] TO: City Council AYES: Jason Chen, Cal Finocchiaro, Bradley Freeman, Maya Jamaleddine, Manjula Karamcheti, Elizabeth Kowal, Christopher Park, Devin Romanul, Kim Vandiver, Ryan Williams NAYS: None ABSENT: John Obremski Kathy Pigott-Brodeur shared that a 97% high-efficiency boiler will be installed ASAP and the project will be complete in July/August. This is not a DPW managed building but Jim Troup reviewed the selection. Kathy will be on site to oversee the installation, which is estimated to take 3 days.
Transcript
▶ 2:21:54 Devin Romanul: All right. All in favor. We'll move that to our next full council meeting. Thank you so much, Mr. Carrillo. We'll have you back in after one more agenda item. Thank you. Get your steps in today. OCW. Get your steps in. Gotta get the steps in. All right. Appropriations for FY26, ID number 2026-1171, an appropriation from free cash to the Memorial Building in the amount of $50,000 for boiler replacement and HVAC controls. Thank you for coming back, Ms. Pickett Brodeur.
▶ 2:22:21 Speaker 5: Oh, thank you for having me. Too loud? No, you're good.
▶ 2:22:27 Speaker 4: Hang on one second.
▶ 2:22:29 Speaker 5: Okay. This all happened the first week in January. The boiler broke, and I was able to get someone in there very quickly and look at it and make it so the other three boilers would work. At the same time, the controls weren't working, and the controls, what I mean by that is what I do from the computer end of it. So, it was working, so we could get through it, but the boiler has to be replaced, and I need all four boilers back. And the perfect time for me to do this is in the summer. So that's why I asked for free cash, because it won't affect the AC in the building, which was my first concern. And the first part is for the boiler, and the second part of it is for the controls to... It's two separate items that happened, but the controls have to be upgraded. It's the BACnet system, which I know all about now. And as a result of this, I talked to many people, and that's where it came, I want a service contract so that my controls are constantly being monitored, it'll be licensed, and it'll be upgraded. Any questions I can answer?
▶ 2:23:39 Devin Romanul: Perfect. Up first, I have Councilor Finocchiaro.
▶ 2:23:41 Cal Finocchiaro: Thank you. It just sounds like a no-brainer, so I just want to make a motion to recommend.
▶ 2:23:45 Ryan Williams: Second. Motion to recommend made by Councilor Finocchiaro, second by Councilor Karamcheti. On discussion, I have Councilor Williams. Mm. Yes. Thank you. Okay. I just wanted to ask whether you all are looking at high-efficiency boilers. I assume this is a gas-fired boiler that you have. Like, it's gas, right? Yes. Yeah. So when you guys are looking at this, it seems like you've already priced it out, which is great to have a line item budget in a free cash request. That's very nice. Thank you for that.
▶ 2:24:13 Speaker 5: Well, I did several. I didn't know about boilers, so I had to do several vendors and...
▶ 2:24:18 Ryan Williams: Well, it's just nice to see some detail that we can look at. But so have you put thought into, or has somebody talked about the benefits of getting higher efficiency models versus lower efficiency models?
▶ 2:24:34 Speaker 5: This is a high... This is 97% thermal efficiency.
▶ 2:24:37 Speaker 2: Yeah. 97, that's good. Okay. Thank you.
▶ 2:24:39 Speaker 5: You'd think I'd know.
▶ 2:24:41 Speaker 2: Councilor Jamaleddine?
▶ 2:24:42 Maya Jamaleddine: I was just going to ask, you can't fix it yourself?
▶ 2:24:45 Speaker 5: If I could, I would've. You really would've. It was a surprise, and it was the first week in January, which when all the worst time of winter for it to happen.
▶ 2:24:58 Jason Chen: Always. Councilor Chen. Thank you. Was DPW, even though we don't have an engineer, they manage a number of boilers and HVAC systems. Were they helpful in advising you on this?
▶ 2:25:08 Speaker 5: I actually went to them and said, "I have to replace a boiler. This is what the quotes I'm getting." And I asked Jim Troop if he could just sit with me for five minutes and say, "What do you think? Am I going down the right path?" And he's the one that helped me tremendously because I didn't know about boilers. But I do now. And so I did ask Jim Troop for his time. I also asked him about getting price quotes, like what the process was. Mm-hmm. And I have since discovered, they have told me about an online class that you can take, which I'm going to take just to make sure for future reference for small things like this, not for big ones.
▶ 2:25:47 Jason Chen: I guess I'm wondering, not directly you, but why DPW doesn't take a more active role in maintaining.
▶ 2:25:52 Speaker 5: We are not a DPW building. DPW takes care of the exterior building. We are a non-union building. We are not included in any of their work, but they do take care of the exterior of the building. Like the fabulous green team, they take care of our outside of our building. They take care of my flags. In an emergency situation, for example, when the basement flooded, they stepped in to help me because I needed help. But we are not a DPW building. They do not service us.
▶ 2:26:20 Jason Chen: Is that the arrangement that you like, or you'd prefer that you have more support on this?
▶ 2:26:25 Speaker 5: That's for someone else's decision to make.
▶ 2:26:29 Devin Romanul: Thank you. Up next, I have Councilor Park.
▶ 2:26:32 Speaker 6: Thank you. Assuming this gets moved forward, what is the process in terms of setting a timeline to get this installed, and who will be the person responsible for overseeing the installation?
▶ 2:26:46 Speaker 5: The minute the money gets transferred, I'm going to call the next-- You have to wait three days after when the transfer happens. You have to wait three days for the mayor to sign it. The day that gets signed, I've already set it up with the vendor to order the part, because I have to order the boiler, and then my timeframe is July, August. I would prefer July, but they have asked me to wait July and August because that's their busy time for HVACs, but this should only take three days, and I'll be overseeing it with guidance from Adam. I don't know if you have the HVAC person from DPW, who I also consulted. He will step in and just look at it, but they have no role whatsoever at Memorial Hall. They do no work at Memorial Hall.
▶ 2:27:34 Speaker 6: Understood. But at least someone from DPW will be there on-site just to-
▶ 2:27:40 Speaker 5: No, they will not be there on-site. I will be there on-site.
▶ 2:27:43 Speaker 6: Oh, you will be on-site.
▶ 2:27:43 Speaker 5: I am on-site, yes.
▶ 2:27:45 Speaker 6: Okay, so Adam's role would be what then? Just-
▶ 2:27:47 Speaker 5: I'm just going to ask him to, if I have questions, can I call him, and I can call him. But Memorial Hall is not under DPW.
▶ 2:27:57 Speaker 6: Okay. Understood. Thank you.
▶ 2:28:00 Devin Romanul: Any other questions from councilors? We have a motion on the floor. Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll?
▶ 2:28:05 Speaker 6: Vice Chair Vandiver? Yes. Councilor Chen? Yes. Councilor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councilor Karamcheti? Yes. Councilor Kowal? Yes. Councilor Park? Yes. Councilor Williams? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. Chair Romanul? Yes.
▶ 2:28:20 Devin Romanul: All in favor. All in favor, we'll move that to our next full council meeting. Thank you, Director Pigott-Brodeur. We appreciate your time and stewardship.