Replacing Town Hall A/C Could Cost $43,000

Anyone who was in Town Hall at the end of last week, when the weather was blazing hot and the thunderstorms were banging through the area, knows that the air conditioning system was on the blink.

Both of Montville’s air-conditioning compressors are both in need of repair or replacement, Mayor Joe Jaskiewicz said at the Town Council meeting on Monday night. (Click to read more about that meeting).

Replacing these compressors will cost $33,000, Jaskiewicz said. Replacing the air conditioner in the Information Technology area, which also has gone out, will cost $10,000.

These unanticipated expenses are “all in contingency,” Jaskiewicz said.

One of Jaskiewicz’s concerns about the budget that the council set on Thursday was the group’s decision to cut the mayor’s recommended $200,000 contingency budget in half. (Click to read about that meeting).

Part of the expense of the air-conditioning compressor replacement is that because of the way the facility is set up, a crane has to be brought in to lower the compressors; then, the compressors are pushed into place.

Department of Public Works Director Donald Bourdeau said he thought it was odd that both compressors went out at virtually the same time. The failures came during the thunderstorms last week, Bourdeau said, and added that it might be possible that the failures were caused by lightning.

If so, Bourdeau said, it is possible that insurance will cover the cost.

“Everyone is going to be arguing and pointing fingers back and forth,” he said.