HomeMy WebLinkAboutPower Outage at Civic Center, CITY COUNCIL ACTION: 17S1
APPROVED DENIE
RECEIVED OTHER
J,)Authoriae the_repair work in the amount not to exceed $35,000.00
MEETING DATE —2)direct the City Attorney to pursue reimbursement
AYES: CA:ato 1 � nl �-.INTER FICE MEMORANDUM from the responsible party,
NOES:
N/V v 4 t \ Westscape.
ABSENT: -CITY OF- PALM DESERT
ABSTAIN: - -
VERIFIED BY:
Original orw(yAle wit1-18 , ns y nager
FROM: Richard J. Folkers, A.C.M. /Public Works Director
SUBJECT: POWER OUTAGE AT CIVIC CENTER
DATE: March 11, 1993
At 1 : 00 a.m. this morning all the Civic Center buildings lost
electrical power. During the early morning hours, members of my
staff responded to restore power. Problems were encountered with
the main circuit breakers tripping on both the commercial power and
backup generator. An electrician was called and the failure was
isolated to the panel that supplies electric power to the new east
wing extension. Power was restored to all other areas of the Civic
Center.
Riley Electric, the electrical contractor, on the building
expansion responded to locate the problem. The problem was further
isolated to a short circuit in the electrical cables from the main
power panel to the auxiliary panel in the east wing. A shorted
wire was located in a damaged junction box along Fred Waring Drive.
Additionally, three other junction boxes have been damaged and will
require replacement during the repair.
It appears that the boxes were damaged when the landscape work
was being done. One concrete junction box was crushed, causing the
wire insolation to be stripped, causing the electrical failure over
a period of time. The most likely cause was the heavy equipment
used to remove and replace the palm trees along Fred Waring Drive
and San Pablo Avenue. The repair is currently estimated at
$30, 000 . 00 . Several electrical contractors are preparing proposals
for the repair.
A call to Dan Jewett of Westscape has been made regarding
their involvement in the damage. When the damaged junction box was
uncovered, plastic sheeting from the soil fumigation was discovered
around the electrical wires . This leads us to suspect that the
damage was being concealed by the responsible party. Presently, a
$280, 000 . 00 letter of credit for Westscape Development is being
held by the City, and will be retained until this matter is
resolved. Westscape Development is in the process of contacting
their insurance carr'er and subcontractor.
7) / ,
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RICHARD J. OLKERS, P.E.
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