By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Working up a sweat has been pretty easy this summer at the Bowling Green Community Center.
For about a month now, the facility on Newton Road has been without air conditioning – or at least without full use of its chillers.
The building has been limping along, with contractors trying to find a solution and patrons trying to mop up their sweat as they exercise.
Last week it was determined that the problem was most likely a “catastrophic event,” such as a lightning strike, according to Bowling Green Parks and Recreation Director Kristin Otley.
It was a “frying of the electrical circuits,” Otley said, which will not be cheap to fix.
Replacing the air conditioning system is estimated to cost “upwards of $400,000,” she said on Monday.
But because the state owns the community center building, the city may avoid being stuck with the bill.
“That’s our hope,” Otley said.
Renting of temporary air conditioning units was considered. “Of course, those aren’t cheap either,” she said.
Meanwhile, patrons using the community center for classes or exercising continue to sweat – more than usual.
“People are frustrated and I get that,” Otley said. There have been some “brutally hot days,” when the facility has encouraged patrons to come earlier in the day before the building heats up.
Some areas of the building are worse than others – with the heat rising to the second floor exercise area.
“It depends on what part of the building you are in,” Otley said. “We rented a whole bunch of fans,” in an effort to make the facility more bearable.
The number of patrons coming to the center has dropped as the temperature has climbed in the community center. But it is customary to see a decrease in the summer months.
“Our usage is lower in the summer when people can exercise outside,” Otley said.
Programming of classes has continued.
“We’re doing what we can do,” she said. “We’re just happy they diagnosed it.”
Several attempts had been made to diagnose and repair the system. Some of those attempts worked short term.
“There are only a few companies that work on that kind of thing,” Otley said about the massive chiller units at the community center.
The facility is a partnership between the city, Wood County Board of Developmental Disabilities, and the Ohio National Guard – with the state being the actual owner of the building.
The state has plans for replacement of the building’s systems like the chillers.
“Our building was actually trending very well,” until now when the air conditioning that was supposed to last 25 years only made it 14 years, Otley said.
