…by putting off the inevitable. A viable community entity – especially a city – has to maintain its infrastructure before running off and building new stuff, like a parking lot for a non-existent hotel. Apparently the library central air system is around twenty years old. Instead of saving money in the long run, the city has been patching up the aging system, just like it kept patching up the library front steps.
It’s like having an old used car that keeps breaking down. Good money goes in after bad money. At some point you have to cut your losses and get another car. By the time your wreck finally dies, it turns out you spent enough money to buy another vehicle in much better condition.
Today the library was closed. The air conditioning is still broken. I don’t blame the library staff for not wanting to work in such conditions on a day like this, high humidity, temps into the 90s.
Yesterday, a relatively cooler day, I checked conditions inside the library. It was 45 percent humidity, 85 degrees Fahrenheit. The temp indoors this afternoon would easily rise above the mid 90s with the heat index. Fans moving around hot air don’t help.
I’ve been forced to cut my library visits short because the conditions were so bad that I start to get nauseated. Imagine working an eight-hour shift there.
From what I’ve gathered a condenser unit to the old central air system was sent up into Canada to be repaired. The refurbished unit is scheduled for installation this Monday. We’ll see. One wonders how long it would take if the AC failed at City Hall. Repairs would probably be done in days, not weeks.
And if the repaired unit fails when it’s back online at the library? The city of Plattsburgh has to realize that the system has to be replaced.
Or good money will go down the rathole after bad money.
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