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Date: 1/19/2022
SOUTHWICK – Southwick’s municipal buildings may soon be retrofitted with new HVAC systems to help filter COVID-19 from the air, thanks to funds given to the town through the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
Chief Administrative Officer Karl Steinhart said during the Jan. 9 Select Board meeting that ARPA funds could be used to pay for the installation of better ventilation units in Town Hall, the police and fire stations, and the Department of Public Works building. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, municipalities and private businesses have sometimes opted to install high-grade HVAC systems to decrease the likelihood of spreading the virus in a building.
“I believe some of the larger cities around us had installed some of these technologies in their buildings,” said Steinhart.
Steinhart said that the Massachusetts Department of Revenue has also been informing communities that ARPA funds can be used for COVID-19 tests and testing sites. The Board of Health earlier this month said that it was interested in setting up a COVID-19 test site in Southwick somewhere, possibly outside of Town Hall or another town property.
Buildings and Grounds Supervisor David Sutton said that he was looking into a series of HVAC filtering units that are reported to have a 99.9 percent success rate when it comes to filtering COVID-19 particles out of the air.
Select Board member Doug Moglin emphasized that any new HVAC upgrades to town buildings would be permanent, and would not be removed after a year or if the pandemic subsides.
Steinhart said that ARPA funds that were previously approved for the addition of water bottle filling stations in Town Hall can likely be used for the HVAC system instead, under the premise that clean air takes priority over water bottles, especially during a pandemic.
The Select Board voted unanimously to approve the use of ARPA funds on COVID-19 tests and HVAC upgrades.