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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Contract for the Purchase and Installation of the Variable Frequency Drives for Unit 8 Cooling Tower at the Power Plant RESOLUTION NO. 21-494 RESOLUTION AWARDING CONTRACT FOR THE PURCHASE AND INSTALLATION OF THE VARIABLE FREQUENCY DRIVES FOR UNIT 8 COOLING TOWER AT THE POWER PLANT FOR THE CITY OF AMES,IOWA WHEREAS, the primary purpose of the Power Plant cooling tower is to remove the heat absorbed in the circulating cooling water, and depending on the weather conditions outside, the Power Plant Operator will regularly change the speeds of the cooling tower fans to create the desired water temperature; and, WHEREAS, if the weather is warm, the fans operate at high speeds to encourage evaporation,causing the water to cool,and if the temperatures are below freezing,the fans must be cycled in reverse,pushing air down into the tower,picking up heat from the hot water dropping from the top and then melting any ice on the outside louvers as the air exits; and, WHEREAS, the current equipment on the Unit 8 cooling tower fan motors is old and outdated; and, WHEREAS,Plant staff has struggled with the reliability of the equipment on Unit 7,which was the only operational unit in the past year, and this past winter the starter assemble feeding one of the Unit 7 cooling tower fans failed; and, WHEREAS,Plant staff was unable to find replacement parts,and the safety and equipment risk of fabricating a new part was too high; and, WHEREAS, later in the winter,the power cubicle feeding the second Unit 7 cooling tower fan failed and Plant staff had to reduce the load on the Unit and perform manual de-icing until outside conditions improved; and, WHEREAS,the FY 2024/25 Capital Improvement Plan(CIP)contains a project that was to replace both Unit 7 and Unit 8 cooling tower fan equipment with Variable Frequency Drives(VFDs); and, WHEREAS, VFDs provide control over a range of speeds, improving reliability and efficiency; and, WHEREAS, due to the issues experienced this past winter with Unit 7, staff realized it was critical to accelerate the installation of the VFDs on the Unit 7 cooling towers to maintain reliability; therefore, the VFDs for Unit 7 were installed in summer 2021 at the cost of$72,565; and, WHEREAS, since Unit 8 was returned to service in August 2021, staff has already experienced issues with the Unit 8 cooling tower fan motor equipment; internal timers have not operated as required and sourcing spare parts has been very challenging; and, WHEREAS, due to the issues outlined above, the project to replace the drives on Unit 8 needs to be performed as soon as possible to avoid future operational issues,particularly as extreme cold temperatures approach this winter; and, WHEREAS, installing them now will complete the existing FY 2024/25 CIP project in the current year rather than as scheduled, and the installation of these VFDs can be completed one at a time while the Unit remains operational; and, WHEREAS,bid documents were issued through the City's electronic bidding system to 132 firms, and on July 30 ,2021, three bids were received; and, WHEREAS, staff reviewed the bids and concluded that the apparent low bid submitted by Baker Group,Ankeny,Iowa,in the amount of$158,467 (inclusive of Iowa sales tax)is acceptable; and, WHEREAS, funding for these repairs is available from the approved FY 2020/21 operating budget under the Unit 8 and Unit 7 Steam Turbine and Generator Maintenance account; and, WHEREAS, this account currently contains $160,000 for cleaning or replacing piping and equipment associated with the cooling tower circulating water, and the cleaning or piping and equipment replacement can be deferred to future years in order to cover this project; and, WHEREAS,by funding the proj ect through this year's operating budget,the planned Capital Improvement Project in FY 2024/25 will be eliminated. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Ames, Iowa, that the Contract for the purchase and installation of the Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) for Power Plant Unit 8 cooling water to Baker Group of Ankeny, Iowa, in an amount of$158,467 (inclusive of sales tax) is hereby approved. ADOPTED THIS 14t'' day of September, 2021. Diane R. Voss, City Clerk John A. Haila, Mayor Introduced by: Betcher Seconded by: Junck Voting aye: Beatty-Hansen, Betcher, Corrieri, Gartin, Junck, Martin Voting nay: None Absent: None Resolution declared adopted and signed by the Mayor this 14'day of September, 2021.