September 22, 2023 |
Photo – Rec Center’s heating/cooling system – Bigfoot99 file photo
The Rawlins city council votes to approve $1,740,000 to replace outdated equipment in the city’s buildings.
Earlier this month, Rawlins Facilities Superintendent Anthony Zabala informed council about the poor state of air handling systems in city-owned buildings. Zabala said much of the equipment is so outdated that finding replacement parts is an ongoing issue. The superintendent recommended purchasing all new equipment and creating a maintenance plan.
During Tuesday’s Rawlins city council meeting, City Manager Tom Sarvey presented a budget amendment to pay for the replacement equipment. Sarvey said over $1.7 million is needed to fix the faulty components discovered by Zabala.
Sarvey recommended pulling the money from the city’s $11 million-dollar unassigned reserve fund.
Facilities Supervisor Zabala said the city has not replaced any HVAC equipment in city buildings for at least 10 years. Vice Mayor Steve Sanger said $1.74 million is the culmination of a decade’s worth of deferred maintenance payments.
Vice Mayor Sanger said many of the pieces of equipment are being purchased in groups of two. The vice mayor asked Zabala if it is possible to purchase one new unit and maintain one old unit to save money.
Zabala said most of the equipment in the city’s buildings are far past their operational lifespan. The facilities supervisor said brand new equipment with a full-fledged maintenance program is the only safe way to move forward.
City Manager Sarvey said $1.74 million is only the beginning of the maintenance spending the city needs to do. Sarvey said he’ll return during next year’s budget talks to request more money for additional critical repairs to city buildings.
Mayor Weickum said while he isn’t happy about spending $1.74 million so early into the fiscal year, he will support the amended budget. The mayor said if it were possible, he would prefer Vice Mayor Sanger’s suggestion to spread out the purchases. Mayor Weickum instructed Zabala to bring all future maintenance requests up a the appropriate times.
The council unanimously voted to approve the $1.74 million budget amendment to pay for new equipment in city-owned buildings. According to official documents, $730,000 will go to the Rawlins Family Recreation Center, $150,000 to the city’s police department, $340,000 to city hall, $335,000 to the public works building, and $185,000 to the Rochelle Ranch Golf Course clubhouse.
