Oregon-Davis School Board members continue to voice frustration that the $6 million the school corporation borrowed for HVAC upgrades won’t go as far as what they were apparently told. Engineer Kevin Livingston with guaranteed savings provider EMCOR presented some updated plans and cost estimates during last week’s meeting.
Work at the high school would include a new chiller, a new control system, and the replacement of the old unit ventilators in the individual classrooms with vertical models that distribute the air more evenly. “As we’ve looked at the classrooms in this building and looking at going from these horizontal units to a vertical unit ventilator that’s ducted up above the ceiling, much quieter than you hear these units operating, much more efficient with the air distribution, makes for a more comfortable student learning environment,” Livingston explained.
But of the roughly 40 unit ventilators in the building, EMCOR only expects to have enough money to replace nine to 13. That drew concern from Board Member Kyle Hinds. He noted that the units have been causing problems, including at least one call to the fire department. “I’m not frustrated at you guys,” he told Livingston. “I’m frustrated at the previous administration that’s no longer with us that completely lied about these conversations with EMCOR about what this money would get accomplished. And here we are, rolling the dice.”
It was noted that the number of classrooms getting new ventilators had been a discussion point between the school and EMCOR, but Superintendent Bill Bennett felt the replacement of the chiller was the first priority. “That was the primary reason we came and asked to do the bond, so I wanted to make sure the primary thing, we’re getting taken care of,” he told board members.
Livingston said work at the elementary school would include the replacement of the primary rooftop air handling unit and 35 original variable air volume boxes, as well as the installation of a new temperature control system. “The elementary school, we can get a lot more rooms covered under the base price, just because of the difference in equipment,” Livingston noted. “These VAV boxes are smaller units that fit above the ceiling. They’re about a quarter of the cost of the vertical unit ventilators that I talked about for the high school.”
Due to the way the financing works, the school corporation apparently can’t budget more than $3 million at one particular building. Going forward, EMCOR plans to further refine the cost estimates and have a guaranteed savings contract ready for the board’s approval on December 21.
