Summer for the Forum means maintenance! After the Shrine Circus we prepare for the summer ice season and begin work preparing the building and equipment for the next 12 months of events. In addition the work on capital improvements is usually under way. This year the Forum has two capital programs in the works; a new fire alarm system to bring the facility up to code and reworking the main lobby bathrooms. The fire alarm system is well under way; the bathroom upgrade is out for bids with the bid opening scheduled for July 8.
The work to the lobby bathrooms is basically a swap. The existing men’s room is much larger than the women’s room which causes problems during the larger events. The current configuration of the ladies room has five stalls; the new configuration will have seven. We are also looking into automatic valves for all the fixtures as well as high volume electric dryers.
Another item we are working on is the re-commissioning of two coal boilers that were originally installed in the building. When in use, these boilers easily heat both ends of the building as well as the hot water required for the locker rooms and resurfacing operations. With the current cost of oil these boilers once again make economic sense.
As an update, the lighting project has certainly been a success so far with electric bills up to 25 percent lower than the corresponding bill from a year before. We are currently in the middle of our summer ice season and we are extremely curious as to how the lack of heat pressure from the old lights will show up on the next bill.
James F. Kaiser is Forum director for the city of Presque Isle. He can be reached at 764-0491 or online at theforum@mfx.net.