(2/1) At its January 12 meeting, Town Manager Sean Williams updated the Town Council on the status of town hall renovations, including the upgrading of the building’s heating and cooling systems.
Williams told the council that the air conditioning units have lasted since the town hall’s 1990 renovations, but some have started to fail, and said it is best to replace them all now rather than waiting for the others to follow suit. The estimated life span of the units is 15 years, Williams said. "The fact that they last 32 years is ridiculous," he said.
Two bids were received to replace the five AC units. The town staff original estimate to replace the air conditioning units was between $50,000 and $80,000, which was not included in the original $404,000 town hall renovation estimate.
While the current furnace is town hall is still working and does not require replacement now, "It’s ancillary parts that hook up to the furnace are the problem, and will continue to be so as it ages." Williams said.
The first bid was $177,248 to replace the five existing air conditioning units, all four blower units and additional ductwork. The furnace would not be replaced with this option since it was recently replaced in 2018.
The second bid came in at $585,379 for a complete overhaul of both the building heating and cooling systems, replacing the old oil system with an electric heating and cooling system. The revamp would remove the five existing units and install a minimum of ten inline heaters and coolers in the ceilings.
The Council debated if it could be worth it to go with the more expensive option since it would eliminate the need for oil while also heating and cooling Town Hall more efficiently, especially in the larger rooms. Currently, the heat or air conditioning is less effective in certain areas of the building, leaving some areas too cold or too hot.
Under the second bid option, each office or room in the building would have its own thermostat, decreasing or even eliminating the hot or cold spots in Town Hall and allowing the heating and cooling systems to run more efficiently.
Williams said that while the supplier of the more expense system predicted a return on investment within seven year, their calculation was based upon a new installation is a new building with modern weatherization. "Not an old renovated fire house." As a result, Williams said he thinks their estimates were overall optimistic.
Ultimately the deciding factor for Council members came down to the return on investment. "As far as I can tell, it’s going to take us close to 40 years to recoup the additional expense of the more advanced system, I have a hard time justify that." said Commissioner McNiesh. His fellow commissioners agreed, voting 5-0 to approve the lower bid to simply repair or replace existing HV&C equipment.
Read other news articles on Walkersville
