City passes on geothermal energy for auditorium

Talk about it

WORTHINGTON — There will be no geothermal system installed in Memorial Auditorium, the Worthington City Council decided in a special meeting Friday.

Instead, a conventional heating and cooling system will be used, and council will advocate for other environmentally friendly measures to be taken in the project.

“Let’s save it for the next project,” said Alderman Mike Woll, who serves on the Memorial Auditorium Renovation Committee.

“It’s not a fit for Memorial Auditorium; the savings aren’t there,” added Alderman Scott Nelson.

Using a geothermal system would not be ideal in Memorial Auditorium and its upcoming addition because the space is too large to heat or cool without the use of an auxiliary conventional unit.

It would also cost about $300,000 more than a conventional system, money the council said could be used to invest in other green technologies for the project.

For example, Mayor Alan Oberloh said one contractor advised him to put in “insulation, new windows and get the building up to energy standards,” he said. The council has also discussed replacing current light bulbs with energy-efficient bulbs, developing more water retention methods and paving the parking lot with permeable material to allow rain water to seep back into the ground.

Council members brainstormed other buildings that could benefit from the use of a geo-thermal system, mentioning the BioScience Park and the yet-to-be-built Community Center Complex as possibilities.

In other business, the council Friday:

l Discussed options for spending the $1.7 million the city will receive in hospital impact dollars. City Attorney Mark Shepherd will look into the legality of the suggested uses, which included city signage, the proposed senior center, parks and recreation needs, sporting fields and the Crailsheim exchange program.

l Went into closed session to discuss the market value of the lot north of the lots that will house the Community Center complex.

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