Taking the council’s temperature

MUSCATINE, Iowa Although some concerns were raised about the size of the projects, the Muscatine City Council has indicated they want to learn more about proposed heating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems for the Muscatine Art Center and City Hall.

At the council's regular meeting Tuesday night, Vic Amoroso, the president of A&J Associates of North Liberty, presented a study his company had undertaken in December 2013.

"They were very complex," Amoroso said of the studies, especially at the art center, located at 1314 Mulberry Ave., due to the differing age and shape of its buildings.

The city is seeking a new HVAC system at the art center, due to concerns about energy conservation and the lack of humidity controls there, despite having boiler improvements in 2012. The art center is a particular concern for the city, as the it stores many works of art or historical artifacts that can be damaged by unstable humidity levels.

"The humidity controls just aren't there," noted First Ward Councilman Phil Fitzgerald.

The recommended version of the project would see the city install a variable refrigerant flow system that would also be connected to a geothermal loop field heating system, similar to the one used by the Muscatine County Courthouse. The recently installed boilers would also be incorporated into this project. Amoroso also said improvements to the part of the art center that was built in the 1970s would need windows replaced to ensure efficient energy usage. The windows of the older Musser Museum are in good shape, according to the study.

Estimated costs for the art center project range from $927,000 to $1.72 million.

The city is also looking to improve air conditioning and energy conservation at City Hall, located at 215 Sycamore St. The recommended project would call for a new variable refrigerant flow system for the building, although the city would have to rely on a more conventional variable refrigerant flow heat pumping system, because the land underneath City Hall wasn't considered feasible for a geothermal system. For energy conservation and historical preservation purposes, there would also be some replacements of windows, awnings, and vestibules. The cost projections for the City Hall project run from about $781,941.30 to $1.04 million.

By consensus, the council gave its consent for City Administrator Gregg Mandsager and city staff to move forward with more detailed proposals and plans for the HVAC upgrades, as well as more information on how the city might finance those projects. Fitzgerald was among the council members who spoke in favor of the project despite saying that the cost estimated were "causing me to shake a little bit."

Fitzgerald also expressed concern about doing the project in stages, rather than all at once. It was a sentiment echoed by fellow council member Osama Shihadeh, who said it would make more sense to do the project all at once, rather than having contractors going back and forth to the worksite.

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Taking the council's temperature