Lehighton agrees to advertise for replacement of annex cooling tower

Lehighton Borough Council on a 6-0 vote Monday advertised the replacement of its annex cooling tower.

In August, council approved Lehigh Valley Engineering’s proposal of $9,750 for HVAC mechanical engineering for the replacement of the cooling tower at the annex. Councilman Darryl Arner was absent.

Borough manager Nicole Beckett previously said a recent proposal from the borough’s HVAC contractor had come in over $100,000, hence the need to bid the project.

In May, council agreed to advertise the replacement of the cooling tower after it heard from Annex building manager Tom Evans.

Evans deemed the problem “a major issue,” and told council that the top of the cooling tower should be replaced, adding that the frame had started to rust out.

Evans said at that time doing so could cost about $115,000.

He said the cost to replace the cooling tower last year would have been about $96,000.

In November, council agreed to spend $13,979 Lehighton to fix water issues at the building at 110 N. Third St.

Evans previously said they had been having water problems for some time.