The Wood County District Public Library is replacing its heating system that is 50 years old.
At the July board of trustees meeting, Andrew Tuttle and Scott Schroeder with Kleinfelder Inc. reported six bids had been received and the lowest was Smith-Boughan Mechanical Services at $254,200.
Smith-Boughan, located in Lima, already does all the mechanical work at the library, said Tuttle, project engineer at Kleinfelder, and was the lowest bidder by roughly $22,000.
Bids ranged as high as $358,646, said library Director Michael Penrod.
The lowest bid is roughly $40,800 below the estimate, said Schroeder, Kleinfelder project manager.
“We got good bids,” he said. “It’s taken awhile to get to the end result.”
Smith-Boughan also submitted the first time the project was bid out.
“They sharpened their pencil a little bit,” he said.
The board awarded the bid to Earl Mechanical in January, but the county prosecutor determined the bid documents were incomplete.
Smith-Boughan came in $18,000 lower than their first bid, Tuttle said.
Their relationship with the library could have influenced their bid, Schroeder said.
“They’ve been taking care of our building since the 1970s,” Penrod said.
The project, which includes the replacement of two boilers and their primary pumps plus an indirect water heating system, should be complete by Nov. 1.
No cranes will be needed as they boilers can be hauled up the library’s stairs, Penrod said.
The library will not need to close, he said.
Tuttle said the boilers should last 25 years or longer with proper maintenance.
What you have is still in working order, but it’s old, he said.
“This will remove the last 1974 systems from our mechanical systems,” Penrod said.
Also at the meeting, Penrod reported on his attendance at the American Library Association conference in San Diego, where censorship and artificial intelligence were the big topics.
He recounted how other libraries were using AI in library services to develop their schedules and press releases.
“I’ve watched a lot of science fiction and fantasy, and I know what happens when the machines rise up,” he said.
“I find no value in artificial intelligence,” he said. “This all screams replacement (of staff) to me.”
There will be no AI used at the library as long as he is director, Penrod said.
He said he attended 14 sessions in three days.
Censorship is here, said Trustee Ellen Dalton, and asked whether it has affected the library.
Penrod said 99% of the time when he can sit down and have a conversation, it ends well.
“It’s a complex issue that can’t be solved in a 30-second conversation,” Penrod said. “And any issue that’s important should take longer than 30 seconds.”
Michele Raine, deputy director, reported digital circulation in June was up 14% compared to June 2023.
Raine said the library had developed a partnership with the Wood County Health Department’s health mobile. The two vehicles will meet at stops this fall and share information about infectious diseases in an approachable way.
