Board ponders: Fix or replace Geneva High heating system?

The Geneva school board is trying to decide whether to replace a faulty steam line at Geneva High School, so it can continue to use its current heating plant, or whether to spend $1 million-plus for something new.

And officials will be keeping their fingers crossed, hoping that a patch stays in place another year, so that they don't have to do the work while school is in session.

District facilities director Scott Ney reported Monday that due to degradation of the insulation jacket, the underground steam line became exposed to groundwater. That caused the ground water to flash in to steam. The steam followed the path of least resistance to escape, going along the pipe in to a mechanical room in the basement of Geneva High School.

That is a safety issue, he said, because the mechanical room hosts electrical service panels. The steam can conduct electricity, he said, putting workers at risk of electrocution. The 220-degree steam can also cause severe burns, he said.

A patch was placed last fall.

"The life expectancy on that is 'Cross your fingers and hope it lasts,'" Superintendent Kent Mutchler replied, after board member Leslie Juby asked how long the patch would hold.

The boiler plant supplies the school's hot-water-based heating system. It also served Coultrap Elementary School, which was torn down in 2013.

There are four boilers. One was installed in 2001, two in 1967 and one in 1957. They have a life expectancy of 40 to 80 years, Ney said. But the manufacturer went out of business in 2002 and finding replacement parts for repairs has become more difficult, according to Ney.

Since closing Coultrap, the district operates two boilers at a time, firing up a third during extremely cold weather, Ney said.

Replacing the steam line and condensate return lines is estimated to cost about $375,000. Putting new boilers in the school building is estimated at $1.05 million.

Board members talked about how the district would pay for new boilers. They directed the staff members to investigate the costs of taking out a loan, as well as putting off other capital projects combined with spending some of the $13 million in its working-cash fund on the project.

"One of the things that we struggled with as a (facilities) task force is: Do we spend that much money to replace a steam line and still have our (aging, less-efficient) boilers?" board President Mark Grosso said.