Problems with air circulation and temperature shifts are prompting work at Howell City Hall.

The Howell City Council met recently and accepted a proposal to proceed with the HVAC balancing of the entire City Hall building for a price not to exceed approximately $13,000. The City currently contracts with Livingston County Facility Services to perform HVAC and other building maintenance.

City Manager Shea Charles says over the last two to three years, they’ve had trouble in City Hall with some areas of the building not being able to handle the weather and extreme temperature fluctuations. He says it will either get really hot or cold and there’s no rhyme or reason to it. Then over the last month and a half in particular, Charles says there have been some humidity problems in the basement.

Charles says speaking with maintenance professionals and staff through their partnership with the county group, it was identified that what the City is dealing with is a balance issue, not an equipment issue. He says typically you don’t have to rebalance a building once a new system is in but they’ve had a number of activities and basement issues. Charles says they think between moving all the equipment around something got out of whack so after doing this work over the next few weeks; hopefully things will be a lot more comfortable.

The basement sustained flooding and water damage on different occasions over the past few years, leading to extensive and expensive remediation efforts. That also involved months of renovations to address elevated levels of mold. A vibration and measurement study also was discovered that the existing third floor exterior brick wall on the east end of City Hall was separating away from the building, resulting in more repairs.

The new work to balance the HVAC system will adjust system units, valves, fans and other equipment to insure consistent airflow throughout the building. (JM)