Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Joshua Lucero: Staff photo Roosevelt County was approved for a $2.9 million loan to replace the Roosevelt County Courthouse’s broken air conditioning system. The new ventilation system will use refrigerant air to keep the 76-year-old building cool.
Senior writer
County commissioners and employees were given the rundown about the new ventilation system replacing the Roosevelt County Courthouse’s current system Tuesday at the County Commission meeting.
Roosevelt County Manager Charlene Webb said the $2.9 million loan for the project was approved by the New Mexico Finance Authority but declined to say when the project will start because dates are still tentative.
The highlights representatives of Williamson Restoration, the contractor for the project, noted were that the new system will not require any water to operate and that it will cut down on maintenance costs.link Joshua Lucero: Staff photo
Roosevelt County was approved for a $2.9 million loan to replace the Roosevelt County Courthouse’s broken air conditioning system. The new ventilation system will use refrigerant air to keep the 76-year-old building cool.
Not operating with water is an important feature of the new system for county officials because the current system’s leakage, which was one of the key reasons for the replacement of the machine, created moist conditions causing mold to grow.
The county’s administration planned to repair the system after eight types of mold were found in the courthouse by an independent lab consultant, but the need became more urgent when the system broke down, leaving Courthouse employees working in sweltering heat.
The new system is a VRV system or Variable Refrigerant Volume system, which Allen Anaya of Daikin VRV says is a simplified system compared to what the Courthouse currently has.
“Instead of water piping you’ll have refrigerant piping,” Anaya explained to commissioners.
The VRV system will allow the Courthouse to be broken into smaller zones so that if air conditioning in one zone is broken, it won’t affect the entire building.
The new system also introduces outside air for ventilation.
“It will improve all areas, changing distribution to improve ventilation,” said John Espindola with Williamson Restoration.
The new system comes with a one-year service contract with Williamson Restoration. The company will train county maintenance staff on how to maintain the system.
The modernized system is a much-needed upgrade from the 60-year-old system in place, according to county officials.
“I think it’s the best,” Webb said.
