With heavy hearts, it is our sad duty to announce that our fifty-plus year old club and dance floor rooftop air conditioning unit cooled its last BTU this past September.  It served us well with minimal issues during its lifespan.

By today’s standards it was oversized by a factor of at least 2½x from what was needed and it had two compressors, of which one had not been operational for at least the last 12 years.

Your Trustees members have been in contact with engineers at Lennox Corporation, the manufacturer of the original unit, so many times in the past few years that it seems like they are on a first name basis with several of them!  Since our particular unit is no longer manufactured (SURPRISE!!) and a replacement in the price range of $125,000, we were thinking that we were royally —–ed – challenged!  After further conversation, the Lennox engineers did mention a retrofit single compressor would work for us.  We will be able to reuse the existing rooftop cabinet and all ductwork.  Long story short – new compressor / refrigerant / controls / HVAC contractor / electrical contractor = $18 to $21,000, with an early summer completion date.

The Board of Trustees, who are statutorily responsible for the finances and property of the Lodge, are recommending the Lodge proceed with this project.

Financing of this initiative is another matter altogether.  The Trustees will (continue to) meet in a regular manner and attempt to identify any and all opportunities that may be available to aid the Lodge in achieving this goal.

ANY AND ALL IDEAS FROM ANY AND ALL MEMBERS ARE INVITED, ENCOURAGED, AND WELCOME!  PLEASE BRING THEM TO THE TRUSTEES!  

You as a member can help reach this goal by patronizing the Lodge whenever we are open, and patronizing the two spaghetti feeds the Trustees and Past Exalted Rulers will be hosting on Saturday, January 6th and March 2nd (Noon to 6 p.m.; eat-in or take-out).  Additional fundraising opportunities are being explored as well. 

This project is not the only HVAC issue we are facing.  The other A/C unit for the lodge room and kitchen unfortunately is also becoming a maintenance headache (in the past year) and the band aids are getting thick.  This units utilizes a legacy refrigerant which is now extremely expensive to obtain and cannot be utilized in newly-manufactured units.  Preliminary discussions suggest continued repair of this unit may not be as preferred as replacement of the unit.

We know from our proud past performance that the members of this lodge come through with flying colors when it’s our 100 year old building in need.  Our lodge building is one of, if not the last, in the state built specifically to be an Elks Lodge, and has been in continuous use as Eveleth Elks Lodge #1161 since 1923.

We respectfully urge your benevolent consideration in this important initiative.

Fraternally; Your Trustees  Tony Jeffries; Diane Blight;
Greg Caucci; Paul Olson; Cary Satrang