The Marshall County Council will consider a budget request from the county maintenance department to replace the chiller at the county building.
The request came after the chiller went down several weeks ago, causing temperatures to soar into the high 80’s for a few days inside the Marshall County Building. The device acts as a way to cool the building in the summer months, but has reached 35-years of age.
County Maintenance Supervisor Doug Masterson says they’ve made it work up to this point.
“It’s working fine now. But it’s something again after 35 years where we’re going to find ourselves in the middle of the heat spell in the summer, we need to think about replacing it.”
The recommendation to upgrade the chiller came about two years ago. Similar to its elevator problem inside the courthouse, parts for the chiller may become more scarce.
Cost to the county is estimated at $100-thousand, according to bids received from two companies to perform the work. Once chiller replacement gets underway, it is expected to last about one week.
County Commissioner Kevin Overmyer expressed support from the upgrade.
“This new device would do like they do at the jail – where, if it goes down, the maintenance guys will get an e-mail saying ‘hey, there’s something wrong’ so they can come in and check it then.”
The chiller is currently working following repairs earlier this year. The County Council did not take action on the proposal at their meeting Monday.
