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Jul 13, 2023

BBCHS prepares to say goodbye to 1948 steam

Reporter BRADLEY — The 1948 steam-heat boilers at Bradley-Bourbonnais Community

Reporter

BRADLEY — The 1948 steam-heat boilers at Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School will not be fired up this winter for the first time in their 74-year history in the building.

"That is kind of a big thing," said Chris Hammond, chief school business official. "We just need to abate all the asbestos in that area to be able to get those out of there. Then, we can start utilizing that space as well."

Hammond updated the BBCHS District 307 School Board on the future of the 1948 boilers during a budget hearing before the Sept. 12 regular board meeting.

Hammond said he appreciates the nostalgia of firing up the old boilers; however, he will be glad to see them go.

"There's an appreciation there, but also I’m looking forward to something that's more efficient, cheaper and more reliable," he said.

The two large boilers, which take up the majority of the room they are situated in, will have to be dismantled and removed piece by piece.

This is slated to take place in the summer after the asbestos surrounding the boilers and their piping can be removed.

The work will probably take about two weeks, he said.

After the boiler room is cleared out, it can be used as warehouse space for storing maintenance supplies, Hammond said.

"We do still have some [areas] that are on the steam," he noted. "So we’ve had to get kind of creative with how we are going to [heat] that, and that's the main gym."

The 1948 boilers would heat everywhere from the main gym to the east of the building, and they used to service the cafeteria as well.

The new HVAC system installed this past summer as part of a multi-year air quality improvement project covers most of the area heated by the old boilers.

"We can put a coil in the [main gym] air handling unit so we can handle all the heating for that space," Hammond explained. "But then you have the locker room spaces that are steam heat as well, so we are going to be piping in some ancillary heat for those spaces during the timeframe."

BBCHS also has two 1960s steam boilers in the north end of the building that Hammond hopes will be removed eventually as the district works to provide updated HVAC to the entire school, he added.

"We will still always have boilers," he noted.

BUDGET APPROVED

Hammond also reviewed the fiscal year 2023 district budget, which was approved by the board later in the meeting.

The district anticipates a total of $36,794,564 in revenue and $40,027,667 in expenditures, which leaves a projected deficit of $3,233,103. The projected fund balance is $24,161,756.

"It's a hefty deficit budget, but because we are carrying a substantial amount of fund balance, we do not require a deficit-reduction plan," he said. "I anticipate that we will see another deficit budget next year as well, with the more HVAC [work], basically finishing off the building with the HVAC."

Reporter

Stephanie Markham joined the Daily Journal in February 2020 as the education reporter. She focuses on school boards as well as happenings and trends in local schools. She earned her B.A. in journalism from Eastern Illinois University.

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