Becker County Board approves $100,000 boiler purchase for courthouse

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – The Becker County Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of a new $100,000 boiler for the county courthouse on May 2.

The courthouse, which includes the Becker County Sheriff’s Office and other county services, uses a two-boiler system to heat their building and being short one boiler can have a huge impact, said Brent Bristlin, head of maintenance for the Becker County Courthouse.

“We had one that failed on us and it’s one of main heat sources for this building and the sheriff’s office,” said Bristlin. “It’s a two-boiler system but one has failed and we need two boilers to heat.”

Bristlin added the boilers at the courthouse are about 15 years into their lifespan, which is toward the end of the boiler’s reliability. 

He also said the maintenance department will be saving the broken boiler and using it for spare parts since the county owns three other similar boilers currently in operation and the trade in value of the unit is negligible.

“We have a couple of controllers that are still usable on this old one,” said Bristlin. “So, we will be able to take parts off of that that we can have as spare parts, if the other ones need them down the road.”

Barry Nelson, chair of the Becker County Board of Commissioners, said he was surprised to learn the cost to repair the broken boiler was actually $50,000 more than the cost to purchase a new one.

“This is another example where I think we should fix what we have, but then the price was 30% more than buying a new one,” said Nelson. “So, I had to change my way of thinking.”

The new boiler purchase will be a non-budgeted item; however, Nelson said the commissioners should look into starting another fund for courthouse equipment repairs so they can be more prepared for unexpected maintenance, if the need arises.