Board approves relocation of James Madison boilers to high school, citing efficiency savings

The Burlington Community School District board voted June 15 to accept a base bid to relocate boilers from James Madison to the high school and to hold an alternate bid for an additional unit if needed. The motion to approve Brockway Mechanical and Roofing’s base bid of $332,190 carried by voice vote.

During a public hearing earlier in the meeting, resident Dave Ziller urged the board to confirm building measurements and engineering assumptions before proceeding. Ziller said, “If you Google it, [the high school] is over 300,000 square feet … James Madison is rated for 200,000,” and cautioned the board to make sure capacity and maintenance needs are fully understood. The board closed the hearing before staff presentation.

Facilities staff presented two received bids and recommended accepting the base bid to relocate four boilers from James Madison that staff said match the high school’s capacity. Administration described the existing high-school boilers as roughly 20 years old and operating at about 73 percent efficiency, while the James Madison units were described as about eight years old and greater than 90 percent efficiency. An energy analysis from Synergistic (as reported by staff) projected utility savings of about $3,700 per month after installing the more efficient units.

Staff told the board the project is above the district’s engineer/architect threshold and therefore used public bidding; the low bid of $332,190 was reported to be within the project budget of $375,000. Staff recommended accepting the base bid and retaining the alternate for a potential later change order if demolition or contingency funds allow adding a fifth boiler. Board members asked whether adding an extra boiler could be handled later as a change order and how the district would fund such an addition; staff said they would monitor demolition bid results and budget availability.

A board member noted that if the district did not reuse the James Madison boilers there would likely be no feasible aftermarket and that the high-school units removed would likely be scrapped due to age. The motion to approve the contract was moved and seconded and passed by voice vote. The board’s acquisition will proceed under the awarded base contract and staff will retain the alternate option for future consideration.