Cheltenham SD facilities committee reviews boiler, fire pump and cooling-tower repairs

At its facilities committee meeting Tuesday, May 6, the Cheltenham School District heard a report from Interim Director of Facilities and Maintenance Anthony Carter on multiple recent repairs, including a steam-pipe failure at the Administration Building, a proactive replacement of a fire pump serving Myers, a new cooling‑tower motor and water heater at Glenside, and piping repairs at the high school.

Carter said the Administration Building required removal of about 17 feet of original steam piping after a leak from the delivery area into the boiler room. "We had to cut out about … 17 feet of piping," he said, and the new section was installed using black cast iron pipe. He also described a separate leak in a second‑floor girls’ restroom at the high school; crews removed crumbling original pipe and replaced the run from the Y down to the cinder block foundation.

Carter told the committee that a new fire pump for Myers was installed proactively because the previous design allowed water to sit in the pump packing gland and cause rust that could seize the pump. "No. That was a proactive replacement," he said when asked whether the pump had failed. He said the new pump was set in place while the old unit was left in place because removing it would have required moving additional piping. A committee member noted the fire‑pump replacement exceeded the district's bid threshold.

At Glenside, Carter said crews replaced a leaking water heater and installed a new cooling‑tower motor after bearings began to fail. He explained the cooling‑tower bearings were sealed and could not be relubricated, so replacement was necessary before shaft movement could damage the fan or shroud.

Committee members asked several operational questions. A member asked about the typical lifetime of a fire pump; Carter answered that a fire pump generally lasts 10 to 15 years. Members also asked whether the district's previous maintenance inventory from SchoolDude had been migrated to the current system; Carter said the district now uses FMX but that some historical data required manual reentry and that staff were working to make records more accessible. He described the district's preventive‑maintenance checks that detect out‑of‑the‑ordinary conditions and trigger replacements.

The committee approved minutes from the April 1 facilities meeting on a motion by Daniel Schultz, seconded by Robin Murphy. The meeting ended after a motion to adjourn by Lou Panetti, seconded by Ross Whiting; members voted in favor.

The report included several operational details committee members said they wanted tracked in FMX, including the installed dates on replaced equipment and timers for future maintenance checks. Carter said he was working to make that information visible to the committee.

The committee did not take further formal actions on capital projects or funding at the meeting; the items reported were described as completed repairs or preventive replacements.