Welcome Center utility costs are unwelcoming

Kimball County’s Welcome Center doesn’t feel as welcoming as High Point Welcome Center’s Tourism Director, Jo Caskey, would like it to.

Caskey requested three phases of improvements to the building at the April 19 Kimball County Commissioner’s meeting, beginning with multiple outdated HVAC systems. She added that she was grateful that the City of Kimball capped the electricity expenses for the Welcome Center at $500.

“Our utilities bills are out of control and we had better do something to rein those in,” she said. “With the rate increase, we have not been under $500 a month. It’s a good thing the City has helped us with the cap of $500 a month.”

To that end, Caskey offered estimates from two local companies to work on the current HVAC systems.

“I first looked at possibly getting new HVACS. The pricing on that was way out of this world,” she said.

She added that when the local companies looked at the existing units they agreed that the units would be adequate for the visitor’s center to function properly.

The building, originally built for Burger King, has a total of four HVAC systems installed in the 3,252-square-foot building, each running approximately 7,000 BTUs.

“We don’t need that,” she said. “We are not operating as Burger King. For our purposes that is way more energy than we need.”

Both companies recommended that two of the units be removed or disabled, leaving the center to operate on the two remaining units.

Caskey added that installing programable thermostats for the two remaining units would save energy and to make maintaining indoor temperatures easier- if the hood vents are also removed.

“In the Summer our air conditioning goes straight up those hood vents and the hot air comes straight in the building,” Caskey said. “Get the hood vents out so we are not losing all the heat or air through them.”

She added that the opposite occurs during the colder months with the heat escaping and cold entering through the vents.

Additionally, when it rains and the wind blows in the right direction the rain will come through the vents.

While pricing differed between the two companies, Caskey said she felt each was affordable.

“I have been working on my draft budget already. I have been cutting and cutting and cutting…and I can actually work this into the next fiscal year budget,” she said. “They both know that we would not be doing anything until the next fiscal year, and they’re both okay with that.”

This could be phase one of a three-phase project, according to Caskey, as more work is needed and the natural gas bills exceed $600 in the colder months as well.

“I think that everything that needs to be done will have to be done over multiple years,” she added. “I think we are going to have to do a three-year-plan, to do something about our utility bills.”

Phase two work could include duct work and insulation between the dropped ceiling and the original ceiling.

Caskey presented the different insulation options and the process of each one, as well as the likelihood that it could be done.

The final phase to renovate the building and reduce energy costs would include sealing doors and windows, including the original drive-thru window, and re-insulating.

“You can still stand in front of the drive-through window and feel cold air,” she said. “When it’s cold and windy you can put your hand it front of an outlet on an outside wall and get a blast of cold air.”

On a positive note, Caskey added that traffic at the center has increased since the Easter holiday, and she expects it to continue to increase with the nicer weather.

At the end of her presentation Caskey requested, and the board voted unanimously, to donate an unused hand sink to the Goodhand Movie Theatre.