City to upgrade library HVAC system
The Bella Vista Public Library is getting an upgrade of its air filtration system that is expected to help defend its visitors against covid.
During its Feb. 15 work session the Bella Vista City Council made the decision to pay for the upgrades to the library’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system out of the city’s reserve funds instead of using part of the $5.9 million the city will receive through the American Rescue Act of 2021.
A resolution amending the 2022 city budget to appropriate $9,800 from otherwise undesignated and unappropriated reserves to the Bella Vista Public Library for purchase of HVAC air sanitizing filters is expected to be passed by the council during its Feb. 28 regular session.
The library will have nine Reme Halo filters installed and is already in possession of another after one of its units had to be replaced, resulting in an extra filter. Three filters will be placed in the main building and seven in the new building.
The filters are said to kill the coronavirus as well as bacteria and other harmful microbes instead of simply capturing and encapsulating them in a manner done by some filters.
There will be some minor
maintenance cost as the cells in the filters will have to be replaced every three to four years, but the project is considered an “add on,” meaning there will be no construction costs.
“It’s under $10,000 and it’s non-construction,” said Mayor Peter Christie. “And the patrons need to be protected from the virus.”
The air filtration upgrade was one of 11 possible projects the city was considering paying for out of the American Rescue Act funds.