Published: October 26, 2009 11:32 pm      

AC approved for Catlettsburg gym

SUMMIT — Catlettsburg Elementary School is likely to have its gymnasium air conditioning installed earlier than originally expected.

The system, which also will provide heat to the gym, could be up and running in about a month, district maintenance director Tim Black said.

The Boyd County Board of Education on Monday approved a $31,000 installation deal with Ashland Furnace Co. The company will install two 10-ton heat pump units which the district bought from another vendor for $14,000, Black said.

The installation will include some additional ductwork and support framing for the units. The heating function of the units will replace existing heating equipment and are significantly more efficient, Black said. That should lower the heating cost for the gym, although any savings will be more than eaten up by the cost of cooling in the warm months.

The long-awaited system is being paid for mostly through $37,000 in coal severance taxes. The gym is one of the oldest buildings in the district, built in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration.

It was the gym for Catlettsburg High School and Thomas R. Brown High School and has been a venue for reunions and civic events.

Also on Monday, the board pulled back on plans for replacing the roof, windows and gutters on its district headquarters building on Bob McCullough Drive.

Only one bid came in for each of the repairs and the board asked Superintendent Howard K. Osborne to negotiate with contractors for better prices.

The building needs re-roofing because it is leaking, Black said. The building is a replica of the home of Jean Thomas, the folklorist from Ashland known by the nickname “Traipsin’ Woman.”

There are no historical reconstruction restrictions on the building, Black said.

It was built there after Thomas died at the age of 101, following an unsuccessful attempt to move the original home, according to local historian George Wolfford.

It was a museum for several years before the school district moved its offices there.

The plan is to replace the deteriorated wood shake roof with a metal one.

MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2652.