The Phelps County Commission refused to approve a $237,209 bid for HVAC repair and maintenance at the Sheriff’s Department until it investigates alternative options.

Citing incomplete installations of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system in the four-year old building by a number of contractors, spokespersons for the company submitting the bid explained the reasons for the high cost for the computer-controlled system.

Representatives from Air Masters, Bob Wood and David Wann, said they had contacted other contractors, including those who had originally installed the system, and were told “they didn’t want to have anything to do with it.”  Wann specifically identified Hogan Construction as one of the original contractors.

Moreover, Wann said, the vice-president of the company that manufactured the original system, Teletrol, told them to “take it out because they didn’t want to support it anymore.”

Presiding Commissioner Randy Verkamp said, “The pivotal issue is whether Teletrol should be abandoned.”

The Air Masters representatives said they could not communicate with the Teletrol system and would need to replace it with a Reliable (brand name) board, essentially replacing one HVAC brain with another, to regain control of the system, for a cost of $80,789 for the new unit and its installation.  Other HVAC components, such as wiring, thermostat, sensors and valves, would not be replaced.

Preventive maintenance costs for five years totaled $156,420 and includes boiler start up, operating inspections, main inspections, spring start-up, monitoring of the system and inspecting the recovery units on top of the building that supply fresh air .  The entire unit has 61 heat pumps, the representatives said.

The cost of the new control unit would need to be paid at installation, the reps said, but the preventive maintenance could be paid out through a five-year period.

Phelps County Detective Mark Leathers told the Commission that Mark Brookshire, the facilities manager for Phelps County, had remote and authorized access to the system from the courthouse.

“In the past, if we had a temperature problem in the jail, we’ve had to call Mark to turn the system on or off.  Otherwise, people just manually turn it on or off,” Leathers said.

Jail Supervisor Ed Clinton said, “What if Mark Brookshire is not available to come and set it?  How do we turn the system on or off when Mark is gone?”

Verkamp said, “It’s a pretty big decision, and we need to weigh in with Mark Brookshire and the Sheriff next week because this is a pretty big chunk of his budget.”

In an unrelated action, the Phelps County Commission sent letters to 15 Jerome property owners on Thursday advising them of the regulations regarding obtaining permits before repairing or rebuildling flood-damaged structures and the special conditions which relate to substantially damaged buildings, or buildings in which the total cost of repairs is 50 percent or more of the structure’s pre-flood, market value.

Both regulations are required as part of the county’s continuing participation in the National Flood Insurance Program, which it has participated in since 1987.

The letter to residents includes reference to a requirement of the floodplain ordinance mandating that property owners who sustained more than 50 percent of the fair-market value of their building in flood damages must elevate their stuctures to a foot above the 100-year, or base flood level.

The letter also outlines what steps property owners should take if they are in disagreement with FEMA’s assessment of the damage and the estimated cost of repairs.  The first step is obtaining a quote from a local contractor for the cost of the repairs.

If the cost of repairs is lower than the FEMA estimate, and if the property is “then not ‘substantially damaged,’” then the property owner will not be held to the requirement of elevating the structure, if it’s not already one foot above base flood elevations.

The notice also directed inquiries about floodplain development permits to the Meramec Regional Planning Commission, the organization contracted by Phelps County to manage the program.

Lesley Bennish is the contact person at MRPC, and she may be reached at (573) 265-2993.