By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
To air condition or not to air condition. That was one of the biggest questions the USD 407 Board of Education had to answer Monday evening when approving a bid for renovations on the press box at Russell High School's Shaffer Field. Superintendent Jordan Perez said bids on the project were competitive.
"For the most part, the four bids were very similar," he said. "The things they were going to address were the same. There were a couple of outliers."
One company was not going to address a new roof or enclose the underside of the press box. Three contractors included bids for replacing carpet versus one for installing vinyl flooring. The board agreed vinyl flooring would allow for easier cleaning in the box.
Then came the question of heating and cooling. Track meets in the spring and football games in the fall can both bring uncomfortable weather. The bid from Stoppel Construction included two electric baseboard heaters with the possibility of an additional mini split that can provide cool air and heat for $9,800. Board Member Brett Mai said the additional expense only made sense if the windows stayed closed.
"If they're going to have the windows open, those things are going to run the whole time," he said. "They'll never shut off, which is going to take the life expectancy out of them. We're going to pay more for utilities to run them."
A motion to include the bid with a mini split from Stoppel failed. The board approved Stoppel's bid of no more than $49,820 with a stipulation to replace the carpet in the box with vinyl flooring.