Cultural center A/C work underway; HVAC system getting completely replaced there – Glasgow Daily Times

GLASGOW Installation work has begun on a new air-conditioning system at the South Central Kentucky Cultural Center, with a target date of July 15 to have it functional on at least the two bottom floors.

The air conditioning on those floors went out right at a year ago, and the center, including the Museum of the Barrens, was closed to the public for several weeks, beginning in early August. The air conditioning for the third floor was still working, so staff members kept their activities mostly up there.

Mayor Dick Doty told the Glasgow Daily Times in mid-August that every time the city would get the system charged with Freon, it was costing $3,000 to $4,000, and it was lasting less time with each fill. Some repairs were also made along the way, but new leaks kept springing up, the mayor said then.

Jason Tyner maneuvers a pipe that had been mechanically lifted into a ceiling area at the South Central Kentucky Cultural Center through a metal eye.

During that same time, he had had preliminary discussions with a performance contractor to evaluate potential energy savings that could be realized with repairs or replacements, and he had hoped the city would be closer than it was then to an agreement with such a company. The idea behind an energy-savings performance contract is the city gets a guarantee that money spent up front on changes and upgrades to things ranging from the types of light bulbs to the heating and cooling systems can be restored through energy and maintenance savings. If the costs are not recouped within the expected time frame, the contract company pays the city any difference.

Because the city was no further along than it was on that process, specifications for a bid invitation were prepared and advertised, with a deadline of Sept. 9 for submission of bids, and two were received.

The bid from Johnson Controls was for $360,697. Lyons Service bid $297,500, but did not include a boiler, while the other did.

Ultimately, though, the mayor sold enough council members on the idea of waiting for a performance contract so the cost of the replacement and/or repairs would be covered by the guarantee, and the work was postponed until requests for proposals could be received for a performance contract. Two proposals were received in December that provided suggested work in each city-owned building, including the cultural center, as well as the vehicle fleet in at least one proposal. Doty established a temporary review committee to make a recommendation, and Perfection Group was the clear choice of that group, Doty said. In January, representatives of the company spoke to several city council members who gathered for a presentation on what they had in mind. The council approved in February a contract with that company, with Doty authorized to determine exactly which projects out of nearly $6 million worth should be pursued, based on anticipated return on the investment.

A budget amendment for the current fiscal year appropriating nearly $1.77 million was made to cover some of the initial work across city facilities, and more is expected to be allocated for the 2017-18 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Billy Carrier, job superintendent with Perfection Group, said the water piping network for the completely brand new heating and cooling systems is being installed now, but some of the heavier equipment for the air conditioning has not arrived.

July 15 is when the cultural center is hosting a reunion for all former employees of the Kentucky Pants Factory, which occupied the same building from 1929 through 1996, but Carrier said that if, for some reason, the system for those two floors is not ready by that date, some form of temporary cooling will be provided for the event.

Sherry Wesley, director of the cultural center, said the Perfection Group has already provided a portable air conditioner for the areas where photos, manuscripts and other documents are stored to help ensure their longevity, and she wanted the community to be assured those items are in cooled areas now.

The air conditioning on the third floor, where bound volumes of older newspapers are stored, has continued to work. It will be replaced, too, but the current system will be left running until the latest possible time to bring the new one online for the top floor.

The old steam-boiler equipment for the heating system has already been disassembled and moved out of the mechanical room at the cultural center, and two new high-efficiency hot-water boilers along with a third unit that will later go to the Plaza Theatre are there awaiting the other work to get them connected. All three units together take up less room than the old system.

Carrier said those are lower priority than the air conditioning there and at other facilities. It will probably be fall before the new heating system is placed into service, he said.

I'm feeling hopeful, Wesley said. This is far more than we ever hoped for.

She gave kudos to the mayor and council for working together to make a forward-thinking decision that will have such a lasting impact for the community.

I really do appreciate that, she said.

Responding to a question about whether it was worth the extra time it took, Wesley said, another month, I can live with it.

Last summer seemed extraordinarily long, she said, noting that the Harvest of History event that usually takes place in September was postponed until November, and they still needed fans to keep visitors to the center cooler that evening.

Besides the cultural center and Plaza, heating and cooling work is also planned for City Hall, the Department of Public Works, Parks and Recreation Department and Lera B. Mitchell Clubhouse, he said.

The heating, ventilation and air conditioning at Glasgow City Hall is already in the process of being upgraded, but will not require as much new equipment. Carrier said the system there had some dampers that allowed for better temperature control in different zones within the same floor, but they have become nonfunctional over time. As a result, some people would have space heaters on because they were cold, while others would be too warm, the company had observed in its contract proposal.

Those dampers are being replaced, Carrier said.

When we're done, they'll be able to control the temperature a whole lot better, he said.

Work in the Glasgow Water Co. area on one side of the main floor of City Hall was expected to be completed this week, with the crew then moving to the other side of the main floor, where city administrative offices are, he said.

The HVAC work altogether is expected to be the costliest and most time-consuming in the contract, with the next-largest commitments being the replacement of light fixtures at most facilities with LED fixtures and bulbs, and some roofing work. General weatherization work will also be done to prevent air leaks, for example, as well as other types of improvements. The city is also working with a fleet-management company recommended by Perfection Group to get open-ended leases that will allow the city to update more of its vehicles sooner, according to information provided to the council's finance committee recently.

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Cultural center A/C work underway; HVAC system getting completely replaced there - Glasgow Daily Times