School board looks at energy improvements

Kimball Public Schools have addressed the need for updates to the school buildings’ structures as well as some safety issues at the Sept. 8 board meeting.

Kimball Public schools has been working with 360 Energy Engineers in order to address some much needed updates to both the elementary school as well as the high school. 360 Energy offers a preliminary engineering audit as well as a facilities master plan that allows the school to see its problem areas and then decide how to proceed.

At the board meeting, 360 Energy Engineering representatives gave a presentation on the improvements that could be made and should be made to the schools.

One of the issues addressed by 360 was the heating and lack of cooling in the elementary school. 360 addressed the heating issues that the elementary school is facing. Old furnaces that are not energy efficient, as well as outdated control systems, are one of the problems in the elementary school.

According to the plans, new furnaces would be installed along with optional cooling, either for the whole building or specifically for furnace zones. Control upgrades for the heating and possible cooling system would also be something that would be considered.

360 representatives said energy efficiency is a goal, and that will save the school money on utility bills after the upgrades have been made. Company representatives stated the most important thing they noticed about the lighting in the elementary school was the low efficiency T12 fluorescent bulbs. A fix to the lighting issue would be to retro fit all the T8 and T12 lamps so that a low-wattage LED lamp could be used in its place. LED lights are beneficial not only because they are lower wattage, but they use less energy and put off less heat, company representatives said.

360 looked at the high school as well, to see changes that could be made in order to make the building more efficient and use less energy. Aside from furnace and lighting fixes similar to that of the elementary school the, company representatives stated the high school also has window issues that could be addressed.

The current windows in the high school are 51 years old and have poor thermal performance. They are single pane and allow a lot of air leakage. The proposed windows are insulated aluminum frames with double pane glass and pop out opening style that will reduce the likelihood of seal ware.

After sitting through 360’s presentation, the school board decided to have a meeting at which they would discuss the school’s priorities concerning upgrades and repairs, and decide whether or not to move forward with 360.

The school board then addressed with the issue of the football field lighting. The lighting has shocked a faculty member, Ken Smith, who was fortunate something more severe did not result from it. He got the shock when he was turning the lighting on.

“It’s very important to me that we get this handled. We’ve had people come inspect it and say it ‘should’ be okay, but they won’t put their name on it. In my opinion that means it’s not safe,” Smith said.

One of the problems the school was having in regards to assessing the situation was that the city did not have lifts that could reach the top of the football light poles. Therefore, it was never really determined what the issue was or still might be.

With football season underway and home games on the horizon, the possibility that the football lights could shock someone while being turned off or on is a great concern.

“We have to figure out a way to make this safe for everyone,” said Theresa Keller, school the top of the light poles, its hard to determine what the issue is with the lighting.

“It needs to be taken care of. Anyone can turn those lights on and off. A lot of the time cheerleaders are turning those lights on and off. Those are small girls. Ken might have been able to handle the shock, he’s a grown man. There’s a possibility that a young girl could have much more severe results from a shock like that,” said music teacher Kristi Hiles-Smith.

The severity of the situation sunk in as the board discussed how to fix the situation.

“We could try to get a lift from Clean Harbors. They should have one tall enough to reach,” said board member Jared Hunsaker.

It was decided that the school would get the high lift from Clean Harbors and an electrician out on the scene as soon as possible.

As of Sept. 16, the football field lights had been looked at by High West Wiring, using the lift provided by Clean Harbors.

“We currently have a temporary fix for the rest of the football season. We are being overly cautious and only allowing certain members of the staff turn the lights on and off while wearing protective gloves. We will have a more permanent fix for this once we can get someone in who can address the lighting system as a whole,” said superintendent Marshal Lewis.