Money found for Discovery Square

The heat will be back on at the Glacier Discovery Square building in January, thanks to some fast fundraising by First Best Place and a big donation from Flathead Electric Cooperative's Roundup for Safety program.

First Best Place had raised $5,000 toward the cost of replacing the aging boiler in the former bank building on Nucleus Avenue when the Roundup for Safety board awarded First Best Place $8,000 on Dec. 8. Long-time Columbia Falls resident Leo Renfrow kicked in $3,000.

The boiler is at least 35 years old and was limping along for the past two years before it broke down for good, said Barry Conger, the nonprofit group's executive director. The group had hired Shane Hatfield, of Glacier Service and Testing, for minor repairs, but the current problem was not minor.

"We had six HVAC companies come in and give us opinions or estimates," Conger said. "Three companies said it was not repairable. Two quoted repair-only costs of between $3,000 and $4,500 and indicated we could very likely only get a couple of years of additional life out of the unit for that."

The group then took three formal bids for entirely replacing the boiler and chose the middle bid from Professional Gas Services, of Kalispell, which offered to install a more efficient unit for about $13,000.

"This replacement would serve as the long-term solution for the building and is part of the overall energy-efficient HVAC plan for the remodel," Conger said. "We have chosen the replacement option because this fits with our long-term plan and would not be just putting money into a failing system that is due to be replaced anyway."

Conger said the group used its Web site and Facebook to raise $5,000, including $300 from a youth-run bake sale held during the two-day Night of Lights event.

Until the boiler is running in January, the Glacier Discovery Square building will be closed to events. Activities such as Girl Scouts, Youth CanTeen and music lessons have moved to the Teakettle Community Room on Nucleus Avenue, which First Best Place also manages, and administrative work has moved to Outside Media's offices, in the Cosley Building on Nucleus Avenue, Conger said.