Costs of Brand New Cooler, Freezer Units to be Explored
CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield County Career and Technology Center’s Joint Operating Committee on Monday night postponed approving a $4,000 quote from Charles Heating Center for refurbishing the cooler and freezer units in the culinary arts department.
The cooler and freezer units have continued to break down at the CCCTC. The units are original to the school, which is 40 years old, and were not replaced during its renovation, Executive Director Lois Richards said.
According to her, the cooler and freezer units are “structurally sound” but have been “mechanically breaking down” more recently. She said the units’ inside parts, such as the coils and copper pipes, will require replacement if they are to continue functioning properly.
She said there usually isn’t a bidding process for projects in the neighborhood of $4,000. However, they also anticipated the cost to be greater than it actually turned out.
Richards said the CCCTC received three quotes, which were approximately in the amounts of $4,000, $6,800 and $14,000. “(And,) it’s a lot of money to completely replace these units,” she said.
When she was asked, Richards said she hadn’t priced a brand new unit but was aware they were on the more expensive side. Because the project will not be completed until summer, she told the board action could be deferred until the next meeting.
“There is too much inside to do it right away. We are thinking sometime over the summer would be a better time to do it. There’s just a lot of food in there,” she said.
Ken Veihdeffer of the Curwensville Area School District asked if the school should look into larger cooler and freezer units than that already in place. Richards said there’s always been plenty of room and didn’t believe it’d be necessary.
James Smith of the Philipsburg-Osceola School District encouraged the committee to hold off and look into the cost of brand new units. He said that 40 years was a long time, and they could likely sell the units if new ones were purchased.
