City of Lake Wales Authorizes $29,000 to Install New Air-Conditioning System at Tourist Club
by James Coulter
A city-owned building that still relies on an oil-burning heater will soon receive a new air-conditioning system that will cost $29,000.
At their regular meeting on Tuesday evening, Lake Wales City Commissioners approved an item on the consent agenda to expend funds installing a new Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system at the Tourist Club.
City staff has been authorized to expend $29,000 for the replacement of the current oil burning heater and the installation of the new HVAC unit, as well as “to execute the necessary documents on behalf of the City,” Mark Calvert, Public Works Operation Manager, wrote in the city staff memo.
City Commissioners previously approved $100,000 in this year’s city budget for repairs and renovations to the Lake Wales Tourist Club, located at 205 N 5th Street in Lake Wales.
Since then, the Tourist Club has had its bathrooms remodeled and brought up to date with current ADA requirements, new floors, blinds, and ceiling fans installed, and its building repainted. All of these renovations have left a remaining balance of $30,452.
“In an effort to continue the upgrades at the Tourist Club, a new HVAC system is needed,” Calvert said. “The Tourist Club has an old oil-burning heating system. This system is ineffective and obsolete. The proposal submitted by Gill’s Heating and Cooling, Inc. to install a new HVAC system and remove the old oil burning system is $29,000.00.”
