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Weston officials say high-school pool equipment failed; district juggling multiple HVAC repairs
Summary
At a Oct. 17 Facilities and Finance Committee meeting, district facilities staff reported a failed Dectron pool unit with parts on order, ongoing HVAC repairs at the high school and elementary school, and concerns about the pool as a single high‑use facility.
Mike, the district facilities lead, told the Weston Board of Education Facilities and Finance Committee on Oct. 17 that a Dectron dehumidification/heating unit serving the high‑school pool broke down several weeks ago and that parts have been ordered and are expected next week. "Parts were in order. We're hoping to have them in place at some point next week, and then the repair will be made," Mike said.
The district continues to run older backup units that date to the 1960s and has upgraded electronics to allow remote energy management. Mike said those older units are maintained daily to cover the pool when the Dectron unit is unavailable. He estimated the original Dectron installation cost "a quarter of a million dollars back in 2015-16 or so." "It's big dollars," he added.
The committee heard the pool is heavily used: committee member Peter said the pool is "the only pool in town" and noted its daily schedule typically runs from about 5:30 a.m. until 10 p.m., including holidays. Peter urged that any school consolidation or building changes take the pool's presence and operating cost into account. A member referencing an earlier consultant report said Collier's had documented a roughly $3.045 million add‑on to include a pool in certain consolidation scenarios.
In separate updates, Mike reported two other HVAC problems. At the high school science building, a refrigerant system suffered "a catastrophic leak" and technicians completed a testing period; Mike said repairs are underway and the system should be ready when cooling is next needed. At the elementary school, a chiller experienced a compressor failure; because the unit is a multi‑bank chiller the district was able to keep some cooling online while awaiting a replacement compressor. Mike said the elementary compressor parts are expected to arrive in time for repair "hopefully before Thanksgiving."
The committee discussed the pool as a potential single point of failure for town recreation and athletics, with Peter and others emphasizing that replacement or continued operation of the pool must be factored into long‑range facility planning.
The meeting included no formal votes on these repairs; staff said they will continue to report timelines and cost estimates as parts arrive.
