LAWTON — The Comanche County Board of Commissioners took care Jan. 17 of housekeeping matters, which included taking steps to repair the cooling tower at the courthouse.
The commission voted 3-0 to declare an emergency for fixing the cooling tower, as authorized by District Attorney Kyle Cabelka. Commissioner Josh Powers was absent, but his chief deputy, Kenny Kinder, filled in for him.
The cooling tower, which sits on the courthouse roof, pulls air being pumped through the chiller that are part of the courthouse cooling system, said Matt Lepien, supervisor of maintenance and a member of Commission Chairman Johnny Owens’ staff. A fan blade recently flew off the tower, broke through a wire cage and ended up near the street below the courthouse, but no one was injured.
“The cooling tower’s not going to run anymore. So we’ve had to scramble and try to get parts and pieces and get this thing going here,” Lepien said.
He said the county cannot wait to fix the cooling tower because the chiller cannot operate without it. Trying to run the chiller without the tower would cause the compressor – another element of the cooling system – to overheat. If the compressor goes out, the county will have to spend about $250,000 to fix it.
Normally, the chiller operates continuously and pumps water into the cooling tower, Lepien said. But the cooling tower is out of service, which means the water in the tower and the pipes is stagnant.
“Treated water from the cooling tower is no longer running through the tower, which inhibits corrosion,” Lepien said. “And we’re not getting those chemicals put in the system to keep the pipes cleaned up. It’s kind of like arteries hardening.”
He said the county might have trouble finding the parts for repairing the cooling tower if officials don’t move quickly.