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Last updated on Wednesday, December 19, 2012
(BEDFORD) - Updated lighting, new air handling equipment, new ductwork and air conditioning are coming to the Bedford North Lawrence High School Fieldhouse.
Mike Lewis of the Times-Mail reports that five companies bid on the project, which was budgeted at $750,000.
The North Lawrence school board accepted Heflin Industries' bid of $734,300, which was the lowest of the five. Heflin is a mechanical contracting firm with offices in Bloomington.
Thomas Durkin of Durkin & Villalta Partners Engineering, the firm that has been working on the project says the project will replace the air handlers and the ductwork, to aid with acoustics and provide more even airflow. Modern controls will make the heating system more efficient, he said, and air conditioning will be added.
He says the changes will allow managers to control the humidity of the building.
The Fieldhouse lighting measures in the neighborhood of 50 lumens, the engineering firm reported. The Indiana High School Athletic Association's guideline is 80 lumens.
The board voted 4-3 to approve the project. Flinn, Scott Gillespie, Jeff Lambrecht and Trisha O'Rourke voted in favor. Donnie Branham, Gary Holmes and Wendell Nikirk voted against.
Later in the meeting Holmes said he wanted to explain his position on the issue.
"I consider three-quarters of a million dollars a luxury to air condition a gymnasium," Holmes said. "I know it's too late, but I can't justify it."
Holmes says many people are financially struggling, and "taxpayers do not want it done at this particular time, the way the economy is."
The gym is not used often enough to add air conditioning, he added.
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