Fort Bend County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson’s office has spent weeks fighting legal battles and unreliable air conditioning.
FORT BEND COUNTY — As the Fort Bend County Attorney’s Office has found itself at the center of high-profile legal disputes over who has the authority to lead county government, attorneys and staff have also spent nearly seven weeks working with an air conditioning system that repeatedly failed.
According to Facilities Director James Knight, the rooftop HVAC unit serving the south zone of the County Attorney’s Office first went into alarm on May 21. County maintenance staff reset the unit, but it continued to trip intermittently.
The county contacted Daikin, the manufacturer of the unit, which inspected the system on May 29. After evaluating the equipment, technicians determined replacing the unit would be more practical and cost-effective than continuing repairs.
Emails obtained by Fort Bend Falcon show Fort Bend County Facilities staff regularly followed up with the vendor as they waited for the replacement unit to become available. The correspondence also shows the vendor at one point indicated the necessary part was available before later informing county officials it was not, extending the replacement timeline.
Timeline of the replacement
- May 21: The rooftop HVAC unit serving the south zone of the County Attorney’s Office first went into alarm and was reset by county maintenance staff.
- May 29: Daikin inspected the unit after repeated failures. The manufacturer later recommended replacing the unit rather than repairing it.
- June: Facilities staff repeatedly contacted Daikin seeking updates on the replacement. Email correspondence shows the vendor initially indicated the needed part was available before later reporting it was not, delaying the replacement.
- Early July: Facilities continued checking on the order while waiting for the replacement unit to arrive.
- July 8: The replacement unit was delivered to Fort Bend County.
- July 14: Installation was scheduled. Because the HVAC unit is located on the roof, a crane was required to lift the replacement unit into place.
Knight said county officials attempted to accelerate the installation once the replacement unit arrived. While coordinating a crane required advance scheduling, the email correspondence indicates the bulk of the nearly seven-week delay resulted from waiting for the manufacturer to supply the replacement equipment.
County officials expect the new HVAC unit to restore cooling to the affected portion of the County Attorney’s Office once installation is complete.