The Corner Brook Museum and Archives and the City of Corner Brook have partnered to make any necessary improvements to the museum’s heating system. City councillors voted at Monday night’s meeting to approve the execution of a Prime Consultant Agreement with I.B. Storey Professional Energy Solutions for the engineering work associated with the museum heating system replacement. The overall cost for the replacement system is estimated at $150,000, which will include the engineering portion of the project, is estimated at $14,900.

Charles Cameron, the museum board chair said after the meeting, “It’s going to mean that we’re going to have a reliable heating system. This will not only give us a reliable system, but a very environmentally friendly system as well.” It is also believed that earlier this year, the city had commissioned a study on alternative options for a heating system for the museum. City staff presented the air to air system to the council, which was the option recommended by I.B. Storey.

The air to air system works by taking the cold air from the exterior before heating the air inside the building through using a system of small pipes. This system will be electronically powered and will not require another heat source such as oil or electric heat. It’s Cameron’s understanding that there will be an air conditioning component built into the system. The project presented by Councillor Keith Cormier during the meeting, will result in annual savings of about $12,000 in energy costs.

Although the project is being cost shared between both the city and the museum on a 50/50 agreement, Cameron said, “It will be the city’s responsibility for the planning, preparatory work and tendering of the project. There will be starts made on the preparatory work over the winter, as we hope to anticipate starting in spring to install the system.” Cameron finished by stating that the museum has money in place which will cover its share of the cost.