Avondale Youth Center Looking to Modernize Heating and Cooling System

ZANESVILLE, OH – A local youth center is looking to replace their current heating and cooling system.

The Avondale Youth Center has been looking to upgrade their current boiler system with a new HVAC system.

Gary King, the Avondale Youth Center Director, said the Muskingum County Commissioners, Congressman Troy Balderson and State Representative Adam Holmes have been working closely with the center to get the funding they need.

“We’re looking at the potential for $450,000 to come from House Bill 2,” King said. “If it’s approved by the House and if it’s approved by the Senate then we will look forward to that coming towards our project and finally getting this project completed.”

King said the current boiler system has been around since the 1920’s and it’s hard to regulate the heat in some of the bedrooms for the children that live there.

He also said the total cost of the project is around $1 million.

“One of the things that’s most valuable to us is all of the people that have helped us to get to this point,” King said. “Those that have really helped us to make these improvements at the facility. But it really secures comfort for the kids, it makes it a safer facility to be in, a more comfortable facility. We have a lot of kids with high needs that have come from some pretty terrible situations; so to have a modernized heating and cooling system will really help them to be in a better position to heal, to grow, and be able to move on with their lives.”

House Bill 2 needs to be approved before the funding can be allocated.