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Youngstown council won’t vote Wednesday to approve a contract with a company to heat and cool five city-owned buildings
$1.9M heating, cooling pact for 5 city-owned buildings yet to be OK’d
YOUNGSTOWN
While a proposal to spend up to $1.9 million to enter into a contract with a company to heat and cool five city-owned buildings is on Wednesday’s council agenda, members say they aren’t ready to approve it.
Instead, council members said they will likely vote to defeat the legislation to have the board of control sign a contract with Brewer-Garrett Co. of Middleburg Heights and will revisit the matter in the coming months.
The city administration had recommended hiring Brewer-Garrett, but council agreed last month to a request from Youngstown Thermal, which currently provides heating to downtown city buildings, to hear its proposal. That proposal was given Nov. 7.
“I’d like to have more time to look at the proposals and evaluate them before making a decision,” said Councilman Nate Pinkard, president pro tempore, D-3rd. “I want to decide which proposal is more beneficial to the city and businesses downtown.”
Councilwoman Basia Adamczak, D-7th, added: “We’re not ready to make a decision yet and there’s no need to do so at this point.”
Mayor John A. McNally said he had no objection to the council delay as long as the process of finding a company progresses.
Brewer-Garrett wants to build a steam boiler plant at city hall and the attached police station. It also wants to convert the downtown fire station from steam to electric, make 20 Federal Place all electric, and make modifications to the Covelli Centre’s lighting to make it more energy-efficient.
The city would pay the company $1,839,700 for the work with Brewer-Garrett guaranteeing that the municipality would save at least $3,234,180 over 15 years. After the initial cost, the city would save $1,294,480 under the proposal.
But city council hasn’t been told how much the Brewer-Garrett proposal would cost in annual energy expenses.
Carl Avers, Youngstown Thermal’s chairman and chief executive officer, said last week that his company would reduce the city’s utility costs for the five buildings to $2.7 million annually.
The city paid $4,005,065 in utilities, including steam, electricity and natural gas, last year, according to the city’s finance department.