Another “design flaw” in the construction of Pottsgrove Middle School, the North Hanover Street hilltop campus for students in grades 6, 7, and 8, is likely to create additional costs for taxpayers this year and next, according to the Pottsgrove Board of School Directors’ Facilities Committee and Director of Facilities and Physical Plants Michael Katzenmoyer.
Board members earlier this month (March 12, 2013) agreed to have Moore Engineering Co. of Lancaster PA, with which the district has worked before, study whether the middle school’s failing cooling tower system could be repaired or must be replaced. The study alone will cost $2,250, Katzenmoyer said.
The tower is a primary component in the school’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning infrastructure. It is “prematurely degrading due to a design flaw in the building,” Katzenmoyer acknowledged. A curtain wall that was intended to shield the roof-mounted tower from view also inhibited air flow needed to make the system operate properly, he explained.
As a result, Katzenmoyer added, the tower may need repairs that could cost up to $80,000, or may need to be replaced entirely. A replacement price has yet to be determined, but presumably would be even more expensive. The committee is relying upon Moore’s review to help it decide which is the better option.
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