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Facilities committee weighs $2 million chiller upgrade versus smaller replacement as judges press for courtroom split
Summary
The committee heard a GHR Engineers report that rooftop chillers are 25 years old and near end of life; staff said replacing like-for-like is likelier to cost $750,000–$1,000,000 while upgrading to support a future expansion could reach $2 million, prompting members to ask staff for options on doing both the chiller and a courtroom split without large CARF increases.
Champaign County’s Facilities Committee heard competing capital priorities Tuesday as staff and engineers laid out options to replace aging rooftop chillers and a feasibility study to divide an existing courtroom to give a recently added judge a dedicated space.
Jim Gleason of GHR Engineers told the committee the courthouse has two main rooftop chillers that are roughly 25 years old with a typical 20-year service life, and that the units are showing signs of failure. "The chillers that are up there are... They've been there for 25 years. Their service life is 20 years," Gleason said during the presentation.
Gleason described technical constraints: newer chillers are larger due to current efficiency and code requirements and will not fit on the existing curbs without structural work and re‑layout of equipment. He recommended phased work to replace one…
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