As the weather has gotten colder in Springdale, the Har-Ber library has seen significant drops in temperature. Due to a faulty computerized gas valve, the heat in the library has not been working since the beginning of the second semester. While the library was chilly to begin with, the lack of heat has dropped to nearly match the temperature outside.
“We were notified of trouble on Jan. 8, 2015 via the School Dude maintenance reporting system. On that day we found a faulty computerized gas valve and we had to order a new one from the installer, Trane. Once it arrived, it was installed on Jan. 29,” said Assistant Superintendent for
Support Services, Gary Compton.
Thinking the temperature problem was fixed and students and staff could go back to working comfortably, on Feb. 19, the downtown maintenance team received another notification that the same unit had burned out a control valve and would again need to be replaced. The new part was installed Feb. 23.
In the meantime, students and staff have had to endure an uncomfortably cold library. “Kids do not come in and stay as long, and classes usually reschedule.” said Librarian Evelyn McFadden. “We still have a lot of books being checked out but we no longer see the kids sitting down and actually reading in here,”
Along with the library staff, students at Har-Ber high school have had to deal with the cold environment in the library.
“Since it’s colder there’s a lot less work to do because less people come into the library…aside from that, I just usually have to sit in the back room because I’m so cold,” said senior Tanner Thompson.
Though it has been an inconvenience for the past few months, the downtown maintenance team is working hard to improve the conditions.
“The HVAC units at [Har-Ber] are large, complicated, and very technologically driven. Our shop does not routinely carry parts for these units and, therefore, we must order every time something unusual happens…our guys in the Maintenance Department take pride in getting the job done right and in a timely manner.” said Compton
