Cape County commissioners approve heating, cooling project, say it is worth the cost

Cape Girardeau County commissioners signed an agreement Thursday to spend $1.29 million to replace the 30-year-old heating and cooling system in the county’s administration building in Jackson and noted another major heating and cooling system is needed soon for the adjacent courthouse.

First District Associate Commissioner Paul Koeper said the heating and cooling system at the administrative building has “run its course.”

Commissioners said the work needs to be done now, even as they look to future construction of a new county administration building in the next several years.

Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy acknowledged the project involves “a lot of money,” but Tracy and the other two commissioners argued the county could be faced with major expenses if the current heating and cooling system goes out.

At their meeting Thursday, commissioners decided to pay for the project out of the county government’s general fund.

“We felt we could fund this,” Koeper said.

He said the commission is looking at replacing the heating and cooling system in the historic courthouse across the street within the next two years.

He added the courthouse project is expected to carry a similar price tag to the administration-building project.

Koeper said it makes sense to do two separate projects, both for cost reasons and to provide the least disruption to county operations and traffic flow in uptown Jackson.

“We cannot print money,” he said. “We have to live within our means.”

The administration building project includes replacing the boiler system and emergency generator.

The current generator is inside the building.

The new generator will be installed outside the building.

The work also will include replacing the entire electric service switching equipment because of age and an inability to maintain and repair it.

The cost also includes engineering and design costs, project management and installation labor, Second District Commissioner Charles Herbst said in an email Thursday evening.

CTS Group, a St. Louis-based company that specializes in energy-efficient projects, will do the work with assistance from subcontractors hired by the firm.

CTS will have an on-site project manager, who will oversee the work, CTS account manager Ellie Blankenship said.

She and CTS engineer Jim Thurman reviewed the project with commissioners before submitting the contract to the commission to sign.

Blankenship said the current refrigerant in the cooling system will be replaced with a more modern refrigerant.

Thurman said the new boiler system will be energy-efficient, and the heating and cooling system will allow the temperature in the building to be controlled by zones.

The current air-conditioning system results in some areas being too cool, he said, adding some county employees run space heaters under their desks during the summer.

Herbst said in some areas of the building, “You can’t turn the thermostat up now.”

Blankenship told the commission the work is slated to start in August and be completed by November.

Thurman said the cost of the work is “not out of line” for such a major project.

Blankenship said replacing a heating and cooling system in an existing structure is “more complicated” than installing a heating and cooling system as a building is being constructed.

The new heating and cooling system will save the county about $37,000 a year in operating efficiencies, Blankenship said.

Koeper said the county government spends about $25,000 to $40,000 a year to put a “Band-Aid” on the current, deteriorating heating and cooling system to keep it running.

The county commission last fall sought proposals for the heating and cooling project.

CTS was one of two companies that submitted proposals, officials said.

Commissioners said CTS was chosen because of its successful track record with similar projects in other counties.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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