|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
As outside temperatures soared into the upper 90s, the Mountain View Public Library had to close early Tuesday afternoon because of excessive heat in the building, forcing people to seek relief at other nearby cooling centers.
The air conditioning system malfunctioned just as the summer’s first major heat wave has descended on the Bay Area. Indoor temperatures had reached the mid-80s when the library closed around 4 p.m. on July 2, according to Brian Babcock, the city’s deputy communications officer.
For years, the Mountain View library has struggled to stay cool during hot weather, an issue that came to head last summer when the HVAC broke down several times. It took weeks to source the parts, and then more time to schedule a technician to install the specialized equipment. Staff workers were so overheated that they had resorted to wearing ice packs in their pockets and portable mini-fans around their necks.
To remedy the situation, the library brought in a large rented temperature control system that cooled down the building. It worked well, but then the equipment was returned after the summer ended, a staff worker said.
Now the air-conditioning system is on the fritz again, and staff workers claim that it was never properly fixed.
The city of Mountain View disputes this claim and contends that the library’s “HVAC system was fixed and made fully functional” last year, while noting that portable chillers also were brought in as the library waited for the arrival of the special parts and had them installed.
With the current situation, a repair vendor is on site investigating the cause of the HVAC malfunction, Babcock said.
If no additional parts are needed, then the city expects that the air-conditioning system will be fixed today and the library will reopen Friday, July 5, after the Independence Day holiday. The city also will bring in portable chillers so that the library can reopen quickly if there are any delays from ordering special parts, Babcock said.
When asked if the library will still serve as a cooling center for the community, Babcock responded that “the (library) does function as one of the (city’s) cooling centers when the HVAC system is fully functional.”
In the story above, Babcock stated that “the (library) does function as one of the (city’s) cooling centers when the HVAC system is fully functional.” This is a self-defeating statement. The problem is that it is on the hottest days when cooling centers are most needed that the MV Library HVAC is NOT functional. The HVAC works great on cold days, but who needs a cooling center then?
I wish the library would not be considered a cooling center of Mountain View neighborhood from now on. Two days ago, when the library shut down and asked all of its patrons to leave the library right away at around 4 pm, the hottest time of the day, the outside temperature was almost 100 degrees. So patrons already in the library had to go outside under the hot sun to wait for the bus to go home, or patrons who just arrived at the library thinking they could seek refuge from the hot sun had to be turned away and on their feet again under the hot sun. This whole situation seems inhumane and defeated its purpose 100%. In other words, when “the cooling center is operational until it is not” endangers people’s life.
So I would suggest the library stopping calling itself a cooling center this summer or even the next UNTIL it has thoroughly run its cooling system two consecutive summers without any cliches first. (The library can still keep its door open for ordinary use.)
Cooling centers are very important, especially for seniors, and the MV Library has a prime location for that. I urge that Santa Clara County safety or emergency service funds be used to fix the MV Library air-conditioning once and for all. This should not fall on the Library budget.