New boilers for Barton Community College have been delivered and the last one was installed this week, Vice-President of Administration Mark Dean told college trustees. Representatives from the manufacturer will be there to start it next Tuesday, just in time for the next cold wave.
The need for boilers was discussed at the Jan. 13 BCC Board of Trustees study session and received formal approval at the Jan. 27 business meeting. The college has a central plant that provides hot water, chilled water and power to the eight upper campus buildings. Hot water is delivered to all buildings via five packaged modular boilers in the central plant, which in turn heat all the buildings. Three of the Lochinvar-brand boilers developed leaks in their heat exchangers and needed to be replaced. The bid approved was from Associated Equipment Sales for three boilers. The cost is $174,900.
“Ongoing problems with the quality of Barton’s well water is reducing the life of these boilers,” Dean reported. “We are exploring the option of installing plate heat exchangers to eliminate the contamination of the boiler. This option may be implemented once the boilers are shut off for the season.”
The heating load during the coldest part of winter requires three of the five boilers to run at nearly 100% capacity. Without sufficient boilers, the only option is to close the campus.
Other action
The board also elected officers when it met Tuesday, voting unanimously to retain the slate from the past year. Mike Johnson will continue as the president and the board representative on the Kansas Association of Community Colleges. Gary Burke is vice-president, John Moshier is secretary, and VP Dean is treasurer, as required by state statute.
Two meeting dates were changed due to scheduling conflicts. The board usually meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month but, it will meet on Thursdays on Feb. 26 and March 26.
The meeting ended with no further action after a 20-minute session to discuss financial affairs pursuant to data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trusts, and individual proprietorships, in order to protect the privacy interests of the entities(s) to be discussed.
Before that, the board also approved the following new personnel, all on the Barton County campus:
• Cynthia Gore – Systems Integration Support Analyst
• Dykota Knorr – Admissions Administrative Assistant
• Mara Fletchall – Lead Care Provider
• Brittani Frazier – Academic Coach
• Nicole Frank – Executive Director of Academic Affairs (contract position)
• Ashlynn Meyer – Student Engagement Specialist
• Alex Rodgers – Groundskeeper (part-time)
