Noisy Reber Center Air System Focus of $3.7 Million Question

The District 204 School Board heard an evocative command Tuesday night.

“Could you please start up the mammoth again?”

The mammoth is the enormous air-handling unit that rests above the Reber Center at Lyons Township High School, cooling the auditorium and annoying student actors with its droning buzz.

It’s also among the school features up for a possible revamp as the district plans how to spend proceeds from an upcoming bond issue.

The board met Tuesday to discuss potential financial scenarios as well as the status of draft plans for the renovations, which include updates to the cafeteria and tennis courts.

The air unit above the Reber Center was given a lifespan of 10 to 13 more good years when it was evaluated in 2002, DLA Architects CEO Dwain Lutzow told the board. 

“We’re right at that range,” he said. It’s operating at about 50 percent strength, he said. 

Replacing it with a quieter, more efficient unit would cost about $3.7 million, while a new coil to temporarily maintain the unit would cost about $25,000.

But Lutzow said the new coil would be little more than a temporary fix.

“There is a point when they do just wear out, and at some point in time that is a cost you should plan for,” he said. Replacing "school bus for school bus"—what Lutzow called swapping the unit with a near identical mechanism—would add up to about $2.85 million.

That wouldn't improve the noise—a dull, menacing vibration that conjures images of killer bees. Members of the theater program say students have trouble projecting their voices above the sound, Lutzow said.

“Has anyone outside the theater unit heard this?” Board President Mark Pera asked. “I would seriously like to hear it.”

So after the open meeting and before the closed section, the board and its guests trotted over to the Reber Center to listen to the noise, as well as the difference when the unit was off. (It’s definitely an audible buzz.)

The board didn’t make a decision on the air unit, but they did offer direction on the cafeteria. 

They told DLA to begin refining plans for the simplest version of proposed cafeteria updates, nixing a mezzanine level and a 15-foot expansion into the courtyard. 

That pared down renovation would cost the district about $5.3 million, compared to $6.1 million with the additional features. 

Financial adviser Elizabeth Hennessy, of William Blair, shared three possible scenarios for funding the projects, which could also include science lab and athletic field updates.

A 10-year bond issue would deliver $17.9 million for renovations, with a net cost of $20.6 million when you factor in interest. Hiking the bond to $19 million would have a net cost of $22.2 million and would also lower the district’s AAA rating on the bond issue to AA+.

The final option stretches the bond over 10.6 years and offers $19 million for the projects while also preserving the AAA rating. Its net cost would shake out to $22.1 million.

None of the options involve a tax hike fore residents, Hennessy said.

The board will vote on a resolution of intent to issue the bonds at its Aug. 19 meeting, according to a proposed schedule Hennessy presented at the meeting. It will likely hold a public hearing on Sept. 16, with a final decision on the bond issue delivered in October.

Renovations will likely begin in 2014 and must be completed within three years of the bond issue.