By JEFF SCHULTZ

The Porter County Board of Commissioners held a special session this morning to deliberate final bid proposals and choose a maintenance firm to replace the defective boilers at the Porter County Jail.

The commissioners have worked with DLZ Indiana since this summer in efforts to replace the boilers which were said to show signs of inefficiency last winter. After reviewing the boilers in the fall, DLZ recommended the commissioners replace the current five boilers with three new ones. A Request for Proposals was created by the DLZ and approved at the Dec. 1 county commissioners meeting where the boilers were also declared in an emergency state.

The three firms considered were Trane, Johnson Controls and Mechanical Concepts. The firms were allowed to present their proposals and answer questions from the commissioners at the Dec. 15 meeting, but yielded the commissioners more questions they felt still needed to be answered during a special meeting.

The questions posed by the commissioners to the firms this morning included can the companies meet a five-year warranty agreement? What are the differences in efficiency between an AirCo and a Fulton Boiler? Can the boiler be transported over state lines? Is the labor union or non-union?

DLZ representatives Mike Jabo and Richard Dorney submitted the answers from the three firms to the commissioners and reported the boilers could be delivered in two to three weeks where they’ll be installed according to their warranty. The firms agreed to a five-year warranty on the heat exchanger and a two-year warranty on control panels for the boilers.

Porter County Commission President Robert Harper, D-Center, gave each firm a two minute opportunity to present their final proposals. Mechanical Concepts and Johnson Controls did not make any further comments but stood by their bids. County Commissioner Carole Knoblock, D-South, asked both firms if they were union or non-union. Both firms reported they were union while Trane said their firm was non-union.

Trane representatives Ron Crouch and Tim Buss explained in their two minutes the differences in efficiency between an AirCo and a Fulton boiler. Buss said he researched and found there were 45 Fulton boilers registered in Porter County in 2008 compared to 21 of the AirCo boilers. He said in general Fulton outnumbers AirCo three to one and performs with six percent more efficiency but said both boilers could do the job efficiently.

“I feel a Fulton and an AirCo are like Chevrolets and Fords. It’s all a matter of personal choice,” said Buss.

After hearing all the proposals, County Commissioner John Evans, R-North, motioned for selecting Johnson Controls’ bid of $169,900 for the Fulton boiler. The bid was the lowest of the three firms.

Harper and Evans voted yes in approving the bid while Knoblock abstained.

Johnson Controls is expected to start installation as soon as the boilers arrive in a matter of weeks and plan to complete the operation in 45-days.