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Overcast Construction in full swing in District 13
When the temperatures begin to drop this fall, the heat will be turned on in District 13’s four elementary schools. But heating those buildings won’t cost as much, thanks to new boilers that will soon be installed.
As part of an energy performance contract, which pays for infrastructure upgrades through the energy savings it creates, 11 new dual-powered boilers will heat the schools this year and for the long-term future. The boilers will be able to run on either natural gas or oil, whichever is cheaper.
National Grid has been running gas lines to the schools. James Daly, the district’s director of facilities, said that based on current prices, natural gas will be the fuel of choice when the heat first gets turned on.
Three boilers were removed at Wheeler Avenue School, including two that dated back to the 1920s when it first opened. Those boilers were initially powered by coal, but later converted to oil. “They were still working, just not very efficient,” Daly said.
The other boiler was from the 1950s, when Wheeler was expanded. Three boilers are also being replaced at the Howell Road and Willow Road schools, and two at the James A. Dever School.
“As soon as the heating starts, we’ll be seeing savings,” Superintendent Dr. Adrienne Robb-Fund said.
Daly said the boilers will be delivered in pieces and built in the schools. Though the work won’t be done by the start of school, it will be completed before heat is needed.
Also as part of the energy performance contract, new controls are being installed in the heating units in individual rooms. The controls can be activated remotely, through either a laptop or smart phone, to regulate the amount of heat a room receives.
New weather stripping is being added around several doors and windows to keep warm air in and cold air out in the winter. Several light fixtures are also being upgraded with new energy-efficient bulbs.
Debra Evans, vice president of the Board of Education, said the energy performance contract is designed so that the cost of the upgrades will be paid off in 15 years. After that, any energy savings will be money in hand for the district. “We’ve planned this for future,” she said.
A sea of pavement
The entire blacktop area behind Wheeler Avenue has been repaved. This includes the parking lot and student play area. The improvement included an upgraded drainage system. This week, crews are installing new fencing, and painting lines for the parking spaces and play area.
Meredith Brosnan, the assistant superintendent for business, said that the design of the play area will be slightly reconfigured based on input from the school’s physical education teachers.
The project is costing about $600,000. The district set aside money over three years to fund the repairs.
At Howell Road School, the handball court is being redone. The pavement was cracked and uneven, and had become a safety hazard, according to district officials. To repair the court, crews first had to dig down 10 feet to remove old tree trunks buried there. It is believed those trees were placed there after the land was cleared in 1951 to build the school.
The paving project has been under way for the past three weeks. Crews had to wait for the summer recreation program to end before they could start working. The project will cost about $120,000 and was funded over two years.
School officials said that this is the most construction that has gone on at one time in the district in several years. “We’re just very excited that we were able to get so much done this summer,” Evans said.
Upcoming projects include the addition of two windows in the auditorium at Wheeler Avenue School, expected to take place either over the Thanksgiving break or the two-week holiday recess, and the installation of new doors and windows at the front entrance of Howell Road this fall.
