Oct. 19, 2015

Boscobel, Wis.

Editor:

This all started when a representative from Schneider Electric, an ESCO company, was trying to sell me on Act 32. Bob Silva, our HVAC contractor, overheard us talking and said you need to do this. Bob is a very fair and honest person who spends a lot of time keeping our antique heating systems running, so to do this would be taking money out of his pocket.
The law says you must have three ESCO companies interview for an Act 32 project. The board contacted and had all three companies walk through the buildings. They were then interviewed. H&H won the interview process. That was kind of the “bid” process.

Mark Knowles is a letter writer and I am not. I am the maintenance department. What I do know is our buildings need the work. These are the facts.

Fact: All exterior doors, except the main entrance that I have installed, have a 32-inch sheet of 1/4 plywood above them (what is the R-value) and most of them the frames on the bottom are rusted away.
Fact: The urinal drains are constantly plugged with sand. The traps are rotted away. The flanges on most of the toilets are rotted away.

Fact: When the wind blows the blinds in most of the middle school/high school classrooms move.

Fact: The elementary building was a low budget building so the windows were not very energy efficient when they were new in 1985 and age takes its toll on everything. Take a ceiling tile out in the elementary library and you see the roof. Why spend all that budget money on heating buildings when you don’t have to?

Fact: Hot water heat is more energy efficient than steam heat. The steam boilers might pass inspection but the rest of the system is worn out and is constantly leaking and breaking down a lot of times in the tunnel, which by the way also leaks badly.

Speaking of leaks, what about the original water main? It has ruptured twice in the last eight years. The last time was this year, the week before school started. What if it decides to break in January or February? How much is it going to cost to fix it then?

The Rock building, a couple of years ago, I had gotten quotes on tuckpointing this building, which has been improperly repaired over the years, making it worse.

It was going to cost more than we could afford so nothing was done. That cannot continue, we have to bite the bullet and add it to our taxes whether we want to or not.

I can’t tell you how to vote, but we need the referendum to pass. Save all the politics for the elections.

Another thing, who spends the money putting in an inground swimming pool, when their roof needs replacing?

Jim Trumm, BAS Maintenance Dept.