As the Riverside Public Library closes in on completing the overhaul of its heating and air-conditioning system, officials have announced that the library will be closed for several hours on two separate days in May to allow for the removal of the old HVAC unit from the library’s roof and the installation of a new unit.
The large, heavy unit that’s been in place since the mid-1980s will be removed from the roof via a crane on the morning of Tuesday, May 9. That will result in the library being closed that day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The library will reopen at 1 p.m. and remain open until 9 p.m.
On the morning of Thursday, May 11 the crane will return to install the new heating/air-conditioning unit, which will again result in the library being closed until 1 p.m. It will reopen after the work is completed and resume regular hours.
Library officials noted in a press release that the library will be without heat or air-conditioning while the change out is in progress.
The estimated cost for heating and air-conditioning upgrade is $370,000 and is being funded in part through a $220,000 low-interest loan to the library from the village of Riverside.
The present heating/air-conditioning system was installed in 1986 when the library was expanded. The system’s control panel, already temperamental when the library board began the process of finding a contractor last summer, ceased working properly in December and a temporary thermostat had to be installed to stabilize temperatures during the winter months.
