Facility Assessment Lists Issues With Sigourney Jr/Sr High School

SIGOURNEY – SiteLogIQ, the company hired by Sigourney Schools to oversee the planned Jr/Sr High School infrastructure update, performed an in-depth assessment of the building’s “nuts and bolts,” including HVAC systems, electrical wiring, water pipes, and more. The News-Review was given a copy of this assessment. Issues with the secondary building listed in this report include:

• Pneumatics in use throughout the building are beyond expected life and inefficient. This results in leaks throughout the building, the compressor being expensive to run, and the compressor’s second stage not kicking in. Field hardware throughout the building is in poor condition or non-operational.

• The school can gain significant energy savings by upgrading the heating systems to Direct Digital Control.

• Faulty old electrical equipment has led to premature motor failures throughout the building.

• The main electrical switchgear, which was part of the original 1967 building, is beyond life expectancy and corroded; it needs to be replaced.

• Upgrades to the electrical system are needed if dehumidification is to be installed.

• A 2021 Fire Marshall Report indicated deficiencies in the electrical system.

• A majority of the school’s hot water pipes are either from the original 1967 building or the 1991 renovation. Many of them are in poor condition. Most of the pump motors are also in poor condition. There are numerous leaks.

• There is no hot water in the nurse’s office or junior high restrooms.

• The sanitary sewer lines are mostly from the original construction. They are largely sub-grade and constructed out of red clay tile, which typically has a 60 year expected life span. These original lines may be undersized for new, higher flows.

• The restroom in the wood shop clogs frequently.

• Two sinks in the art room have sprung numerous leaks and emit odors.

• Roughly 50% of the building has been converted to LED; replacing the remaining fluorescents is a maintenance time sink. Converting the rest of the building to LED could be a high impact energy savings opportunity.

• The roof covering the wood shop, ag shop and junior high bathrooms needs to be replaced.

• Roughly 50% of exterior doors are in good condition and ADA-compliant; the other half, mostly less-used entry ways, are not.

• Existing parking lots are under-capacity and constrained.

• The parking lots are in poor condition, featuring damaged patches, unplanned low points and large gaps.

• There is a lack of a cohesive drainage plan for the parking lots and most of the downspouts are either damaged or severely clogged with debris, inhibiting proper evacuation of stormwater, which prematurely ages concrete surfaces.

• The fire alarm system does not meet code and is obsolete.

• The building is not currently sprinklered.

• There is very limited comfort cooling or dehumidification, resulting in worse comfort and air quality and damage to wooden gym floors.

• Unit ventilators throughout the building are beyond life expectancy and in poor condition. Several are not in service. The construction of these ventilators predate modern ventilation codes. 

• Many clocks are removed from the central system, in some cases with exposed wires, and frequent maintenance for the battery-operated replacements.

• There is some asbestos in the original 1967 building.

• Most ceilings were marked with either “Caution” or “Alert” for ceiling quality.

• 71 doors within the building are ADA compliant, while 51 are not, largely in rooms that are not student or public facing.

The report did also note several areas where the school is running fine, including:

• The school’s three boilers are in good condition and are expected to run for at least 15 more years. The primary pumps are also in good condition for their age.

• The domestic water heater is beyond typical service life but is well maintained.

• 90% of the roofs are in fair to great condition.

The report also mentioned possible expansions to add new parking, new athletic rooms south of the current weight room, and new locker rooms on the south-east corner of the building, by the football field, in addition to wide-spread renovations to the school. At this point in time, no decisions have officially been made about what work will be done at the school.

Caption: Photo Credit Casey Jarmes