We are by no means experts in this field, but we are in business. We know how to ask questions and find answers. Before we potentially, waste our money, let’s ask a few more questions.
At the last commissioners meeting several of us, there were shocked as we watched this horrendously huge price tag for a new HVAC system for our county building getting approved. They tabled it until the next meeting on January 3 where they will be making a decision. We have to slow down this process and do a little more research before we waste money and a huge opportunity for our residents. We need everyone’s support to help us try to slow down this process!!!
The story….
The commissioners have decided to use part of the Federal money (our tax dollars) coming back to us through the American Rescue Plan on replacing the HVAC system in the county building here in Sidney. They put a notice in the local paper that they were accepting bids. The bidding time was extremely short and not everyone saw it. They got 1 bid from a company that comes out of Wyoming to replace the system for $766,000. That is a lot of money!!!! This bid is by the company recommending the replacement and also provides service on the units now. We are not saying it doesn’t need to be replaced. Let’s just see if we can slow down this process and make the money work for us.
Making the Money Work….
Government money like this is our money. It is not free money. It is money YOU gave the government through taxes. It is up to our elected officials to spend it wisely and in a way that benefits us. Accepting a HUGE bid from a company in a different state doesn’t do anything to benefit our local businesses. Elected officials, especially local ones should be looking for ways to spend money that benefits our local residents and local economy. Not sending our tax dollars out of state with a conglomerate company.
Checking the Numbers
After researching and calling several HVAC engineers there is NO WAY this bid should be accepted without more investigation. We have asked the county for a copy of the bid so we can have some HVAC people look at it. We haven’t received a response from the county. $766,000 is a lot of our money. We need to slow down this process and take a more in-depth look. This is why…..
The national average for heating and air conditioning in the USA is 400 sq. ft per ton of unit and then $2,000 per ton of unit. We just had our building here in Sidney estimated for a new HVAC system for the summer of 2023 and it worked out a little less than the national average. Our building is 1/3 the size of the county building. The ratio however should still apply.
Applying this generally to the county building, the cost of replacing the system per ton should be about 75 tons of unit for around $150,000 at the national average and also in line with the quote we just received for our building here. Add another $100K for complexity and removal of the old system and you get $250,000 which is a number we got from an HVAC company when we told them about the building. The national average according to Forbes for a completely NEW installation of an HVAC system in the USA which includes new ducts… everything is $15 to $18 per sq. ft. So with a new installation without existing ducts, etc. The cost should be around $540,000 for the building. That is for a complete installation of a new system without existing ducts etc. That should not apply to our county building because we just need to basically replace the boiler and chiller so you should use the ton figure. Even that figure is still $266,000 cheaper than the bid our county just received!!!!
Let’s Slow Down….
So yesterday we ran these figures by a local Sidney HAVC company and also a national HAVC engineer. They both confirmed our numbers and thought process. The maximum in all conditions should be no more than $540,000. Most likely it should be almost half that amount, around $250,00. The bid we are about to pay is $766,000. Something is off. Really off. We need to slow this down. We need more bids. We shouldn’t be spending money, our money on just one bid. We need as others have stated at least 3 bids.
Where is OUR Benefit?
We would also like to purpose this. Since this is our money coming back to us. Let’s use it to benefit us. Let’s see if we can use LOCAL contractors. Wouldn’t it be great to spend all this money supporting our local businesses so the money pays local salaries, and then flows through all our other local businesses? If we contract with this out-of-state company as we are doing now, all this money leaves us here in this county. It pays people in another state and supports their local businesses. Yesterday I asked a local HVAC person here if they could do the job. He said no, his company is not large enough. What about working together with others? He said yes. That could be done. Can we use this money to help enable new growth in Sidney?
We for one, would like to know what would it take to enable our local HVAC companies to do this kind of work? Is it possible? What is needed to make it possible? We don’t have the answers yet, but we are asking them now. We should slow down. Spend this money HERE, if possible, so it benefits our families and also if we can use some of it to provide new training, and expertise in these types of systems locally, everyone here benefits. Money stays here. We grow as a community with new investments and opportunities. Spend the money wisely. Slow down and let’s take another look at this. This is OUR building. Let’s see what it takes to do this locally.