The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
First order of 150; considering another round for future
[ By Katherine Nettles ]
Gunnison County is preparing businesses and other gathering places for the colder seasons ahead by purchasing air filters for when people will be spending more time indoors. The county manager and COVID-19 recovery team made an initial purchase of 150 IQAir HealthPro Plus high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters to distribute, and they are considering a second purchase of perhaps 50 more later this fall. The first shipment is scheduled to arrive this week and the county is soliciting applications from all businesses county-wide.
The county will prioritize places where people tend to linger or where employees cannot wear masks, said county manger Matthew Birnie.
“The recovery team has worked out a protocol for prioritizing the distribution of those,” said Birnie in a meeting with county commissioners Tuesday, October 20. “The recovery team is also looking at finding some more as we look at the number of businesses.”
According to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this type of air filter can theoretically remove at least 99.97 percent of dust, pollen, viruses, mold, bacteria and any airborne particles with a size of 0.3 microns. The filters cost about $900 apiece, and county commissioners approved the purchase earlier this month using county CARES funds.
“There seems to be agreement that this is probably the highest value for the cost that we can leverage,” said Birnie.
The county will hold some of the filters for various county facilities where people congregate, such as the commissioners’ meeting room and the COVID call center. The rest will go to local businesses, which can apply online for eligibility.
Gunnison County businesses with a larger physical area may be eligible to receive a second unit as needed to sufficiently filter the space, as these units have a maximum capacity of 1,100 square feet.
The application can be found on the Business Resources page of the covid19.gunnisoncounty.org website and will be open until the end of the day on Sunday, October 25. Questions may be directed to Loren Ahonen at [email protected] or call (970) 641-7981.
Birnie said he has asked the county’s sustainable operations director, John Cattles, to look for more filters to purchase as well.
County commissioner Jonathan Houck emphasized that the filters will not directly be linked to changes in public health orders that limit businesses to certain occupancy rates and social distancing protocols. “We are using them to help keep our transmission rate down, but it doesn’t mean an automatic occupancy increase,” he noted.
Birnie said indirectly, if the filters help the county stay in “Protect our Neighbor” status, which allows for the loosest public health restrictions, the filters may contribute to occupancy rates being higher in that regard.
“The data is pretty striking about how much they reduce the virus load, even in buildings that have good systems. It’s pretty effective. And with buildings with HVAC systems that aren’t to code it actually makes them better than buildings that are to code,” said Birnie. “It should allow folks to be indoors much more safely than otherwise.”
Gunnison County recovery coordinator Loren Ahonen sent out an e-mail message to all county businesses on Tuesday, October 20 in anticipation of the filter deliveries on Thursday, October 22.
“Gunnison County is prioritizing creating indoor spaces that continue to support our public health directives and economic viability,” wrote Ahonen. “While these systems won’t change the occupancy of your building, they will help ensure a safer and more desirable indoor environment throughout the winter ahead.”
