Story posted Wednesday, June 17, 2009
What's Decision On City Hall AC?
Aldermen on Monday, June 15 approved the purchase of a new air conditioning chiller for City Hall, but Mayor Dave Schmidt put it on hold for at least a day.
"I told them to hold off until I make up my mind," Schmidt said on Tuesday morning. "I'm going to make up my mind today." Aldermen learned about the leak in the 70-ton chiller unit on May 11. At that time, Public Works Director Wayne Zingsheim explained the unit was running at half its capacity and might not be adequate for the summer. The committee refused an $84,000 estimate and quick replacement and chose to go through a bidding process. That process saved the city $3,400 when Kroeschell of Arlington Hts. agreed to perform the replacement for $80,600.
On June 8, aldermen discussed if the expense was an emergency expenditure, based on Schmidt's statement that he would veto any non-emergency over budget spending.
That day, City Manager Jim Hock also told aldermen that the expense could be reimbursable under a federal grant program. He repeated that statement on June 15.
However, during the meeting on the 15th, Schmidt asked Hock what would happen if the grant does not come through.
"If we find out there is bad news... do you have someplace in the budget where you can cut $80,000 so we can pay for this?" he asked.
After more discussion, aldermen approved the purchase by a vote of 6–1 with Ald. Don Bach (3rd) dissenting.
On Tuesday, Schmidt still didn't have his answers.
"This is a difficult decision for me," he said. He stated he was looking for more assurance regarding the grant and for an answer to his question of the night before. "I've asked Mr. Hock to detail what $80,000 spending cut he could make should the federal money not come through. I'm waiting to hear back from him on that."
"I want to be consistent and not approve non-emergency spending that's not budgeted," Schmidt said. "But I think I have a responsibility to avoid emergencies." The failure of the unit could disrupt city business by moving people out of City Hall if it becomes unbearable. It could also lead to failure of city computer systems if temporary coolers cannot dispel the heat.
Schmidt had not yet received information from Hock with which to make his decision before press time.
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