By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The USD 428 Board of Education had to complete step one to get to step two at Monday's meeting. The first step came with no fees attached as the board joined the PCA Purchasing Cooperative. That will allow the district to move forward on the replacement of a boiler at Lincoln Elementary School. That step comes with a price tag of $215,805.
"This has been a longstanding thing we need to get done," said Assistant Superintendent John Popp. "It's just been on the backburner because replacing the boiler is going to be a big issue, and we'd like to replace it with rooftop units, or something that's much more easily servicable by our staff rather than the current boiler system."
The district will pay Wichita-based Innovative Groups, LLC the brunt of that money for the installation of the new unit. The proposal includes work to shore up the roof structure around the 800-pound units. The district will pay $28,000 for four Carrier WeatherMaker rooftop units.
Maintenance Director Dirk Davis said the old system was dated, which made it difficult to control the temperatures in the two classrooms and library that will be impacted by the new unit. It will save his staff from the trouble of keeping the 24-year-old unit going.
"Basically, everyday I send the guys over there to have to reset it," he said. "Sometimes it's two or three times a day. We've had it serviced and looked at."
Popp said the lead time on rooftop units can be up to 60 months. Under the agreement approved Monday, the district will be able to procure the units right away.