Eastern board moves forward with plans to replace failing boiler system

The Eastern-Greene Board of School Trustees voted Monday evening to start work on an improvement project at their elementary and middle school campus.

They approved a contract with DVPE to provide engineering and support services to replace the aging, and failing boiler.

DVPE Representative Tom Durkin attended the meeting to answer questions. He said his firm will provide drawings and design work plus supervise the installation of a new boiler system for a fee of $25,000.

The installation is expected to be completed in August to September and not expected to cause any disruption of school days.

Superintendent Ty Mungle said the current system was installed in 1984, a new wing was added on in 1988 -- which caused some on-going problems with the system, and the maintenance staff has had difficulty maintaining it.

Several parts have had to be replaced in the past year.

Durkin said the new system would be a simpler, more straightforward system that would be easier for staff to maintain - it will be similar to the system in the high school.

Board members asked several questions then voted unanimously for a proactive replacement over the summer months rather than risk a system failure in the middle of the school year.

The board talked about other improvements at Eastern-Greene that are the result of committed volunteers.

Board President Lane Corbin recognized an growing increase in community interest in the school.

"We're seeing more community involvement," said Corbin. "More people are volunteering their time."

Mungle said several people deserved thanks for recent efforts to help out.

"Thank you to all members of the community who assisted with the parking lot," said Mungle referring to a project to complete a new parking lot at the high school before the basketball sectionals.

Mungle said the availability of the lot provided parking for around 125 extra cars during the games and will be appreciated again on May 23 - Graduation Day.

Besides volunteers helping with the new lot, volunteers are busy providing labor to refurbish the baseball field at the elementary and middle school campus.

Mungle said anyone who drove past the field over the weekend saw over 15 people out there working including parents, grandparents and siblings of players.

"They've made a lot of progress and we appreciate those efforts," said Mungle.