MANDATA - The Line Mountain School Board will be seeking new bids for a geothermal project at the junior/senior high school because prices came in approximately $1.8 million over budget.
Josh Bower, project manager from Crabtree, Rohrbaugh and Associates, broke the news to the board Tuesday night and suggested a redesign of the project with less work, and then to rebid the project out.
The district wants to convert the school's heating, venting and air conditioning system to geothermal for about the same amount as what the district is paying in energy costs now.
The budget for the project was $3.4 million, but the bids of electrical, mechanical, plumbing and general contracting came in at a total of $5.2 million.
"We're unhappy with the numbers. You're unhappy with it," Bower said.
In a geothermal HVAC system, a liquid, called glycol - a coolant similar to antifreeze - is distributed in and out of wells through a series of pipes and cycled through the building in a closed loop to either heat or cool the rooms, depending on the need.
Energy recovery units are placed on the roof to allow fresh air into the building.
About 100 wells would be drilled in the parking lot between the school and the stadium and then, once the closed loop system is installed, the lot would be repaved to hide the inner workings. At Trevorton Elementary, the wells are underneath the school's playground.
The board requested the re-bid to have alternates of tinted windows or window shades.
Bower also said that his company would absorb the cost of the redesigned project, but could not guarantee the new bids would come in significantly lower.
Directors Lamont Masser and Dennis Erdman made and seconded the motion to let the current bids sit, redesign the project and put it out for bid again. It passed unanimously 9-0.
In other business, the board approved:
- The renewal a 2-year service contract starting June 4 through June 4, 2015, for two servers with Dell Corp., Round Rock, Texas, at a cost of $1,292.43
- To purchase building risk insurance for the additions to the elementary school and the high school with Ohio Casualty Insurance Company at a total yearly cost of $3,578 with a deductible of $2,500.
