The Nanaimo school district board approved a pair of bylaws that will see boiler upgrades at Georgia Avenue and Ecole Quarterway elementary schools.
At the Dec. 16 board meeting, trustees approved a bylaw to upgrade Georgia Avenue's boiler to the tune of $360,000 and Quarterway's to $302,500, with money coming from the B.C. Ministry of Education.
Pete Sabo, school district director of planning and operations, said both boilers are past typical service life and replacement is recommended – Georgia Avenue's boilers are 23 years old, while Quarteway's are 20 years old.
“The new boilers are condensing technology boilers and we expect a 10 per cent efficiency gain,” Sabo said via e-mail.
“Asset condition and efficiency (are) two of the many guidelines we use to select the highest priority boiler replacements. Both projects are also to receive building controls upgrades to maximize the efficiency of the new equipment,” he said.
The projects are currently out for public tender, said Sabo, and the request for proposals is anticipated to close in January.
Sabo said the majority of work is expected to take place during spring break – between March 11-29 – and will be “substantially completed by March 31.”