By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
The bid for the new heating plant for the Wood County District Public Library came in well below the estimate.
Director Michael Penrod reminded trustees Monday (1-22-24) that the estimate for the job was $295,000 including two alternates. Earl Mechanical Services of Wauseon bid $214,537, 27 percent under the estimate.
Penrod assured the trustees that Kleinfelder Engineering, which handled the bidding, contacted Earl to make sure they had considered everything. Also, Penrod said, the company did work on the new city building, so he talked with city officials about the company’s work. “They said they were a good company.”
The system dates back to 2002 when the renovated library reopened in downtown Bowling Green. The library administration was told at the time the system had an expected life span of 20-25 years. “We want to do it before it has a catastrophic failure,” he said
Earl will replace the boilers, tank, and the 1974 cast iron pumps, the last component from the older system.
The work is scheduled to begin in May and completed in August when the heat is not needed. It will not interfere with the air conditioning.
The library will remain open as usual throughout the work.
Board President Ken Frisch said this was a major part of maintaining the library.
Penrod said the library was also able to purchase a delivery van for less than the $45,000 budgeted.
Those savings are welcomed, he said, especially given the library will need to address problems with its 21-year-old elevator in about two years.
The trustees also got a preview of what the new bookmobile will look like. Kelsey Nevius did the design of the vehicle which features a background of a street map, and a clear indication that this is a bookmobile.
It also features the words Explore, discover, and create, and the statement: “We’re your library.”
The bookmobile, purchased from Tesco Specialty Vehicles, is expected to be delivered early this year.
The trustees also accepted $188,504.25 in gifts. The largest share came from the Library Foundation which transferred $173,365.17 to the library’s general fund. Of that, $135,000 was raised at Novel Night in July. The foundation also made a separate donation of $5,000 to support Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Among the small gifts were the pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters that kids spin into the coin vortex. That amounted to $558.50. That money is used to purchase toys for the Children’s Place.
