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GB Library director reports on HVAC repairs
GBPL wall

The Great Bend Public Library’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system needs some work, but not as much as originally feared, GBPL Director Maribeth Shafer told the Great Bend City Council on Monday.

Her update was during the portion of the meeting open to public comment. The library was closed from June 29 through July 3 due to the HVAC shutting down and needing repairs.

“At the last meeting, City Administrator Brandon Anderson gave you an update on our HVAC,” Shafer said. “We were having trouble at that time. And at that point, we thought we would have to do some major work on the heat exchanger. The good news is, the following day, on Tuesday, July 2, I was able to work with a diagnostician and we were able to get it working without having to fix or replace the very expensive heat exchanger. So wonderful news. I’m getting quotes to flush out the heat exchanger, just for some regular routine maintenance and to make sure it’s running properly.”

Shafer said the air conditioning has been working. She doesn’t have a cost estimate for the work to be done,  but said, "It’s going to be drastically less than what we were afraid it was going to be.”

The geothermal HVAC system at the library was controversial when it was installed in 2014, when Harry Willems was the library director. The total project cost was estimated at $450,000, but in February 2015, the Great Bend City Council agreed to loan the library board $762,013 to pay for the system. To repay the money, the board authorized the city to retain a quarterly $25,000 installment from its mill distribution until it is paid in full.

“I wanted to let the City Council know (about the latest repairs) because I know that there’s concerns and I know that the library’s HVAC has some bad blood. But we’re striving to be transparent and keep the city informed and on top of everything,” Shafer said. “I want to thank the council for all your support for the library and all that you do for the community.

“The system is nine years old and it comes with some regular maintenance,” Shafer told the council.