The Christian County Commission approved an amendment to a previously authorized contract to upgrade the control server that manages HVAC equipment in the Circuit Court building.

Johnson Controls representatives told the commission technicians discovered the installed control engine required a newer communication module and that the court building’s existing PC/server was not compatible. Because the vendor no longer supports the older module, replacing the engine requires a server upgrade and software update so the new controller can communicate with the building’s HVAC network.

A Johnson Controls representative explained the replacement engine is the current supported model and that the company will include ongoing server maintenance in the contract for several years at no additional cost, to reduce the risk of repeated midterm upgrades.

County staff said the affected HVAC engine dates to 2017 and that, if left unaddressed, a future failure could leave the building without air conditioning for weeks during a service interruption. Commissioners approved the server upgrade amendment by voice vote.