Does the condition of the Tracy Hall heating boilers and ventilation system justify going geothermal immediately? Proponents of Article 8 on the Town Meeting ballot answer, yes. My analysis below says otherwise. Neither item requires an immediate fix.
For that reason, the Selectboard erred in rushing to put this matter on the ballot. Before voting on a $2 million bond, the Town needs to develop a strategic plan for all capital spending. It makes little sense to commit to $3,000,000 in bond payments, when Norwich has other, higher priority wants and needs. The Town Manager is working on a long range plan. That plan should come first.
Boilers
Tracy Hall has two oil-fired boilers that heat the building. They were last replaced in the 1990’s when Tracy Hall was renovated. Energy Efficient Investments, Inc. (EEI) says the boilers are nearing the end of their stated useful its life. EEI is the Town’s consultant on this project. It is working on a contingent basis, meaning it gets paid only if voters approve the project.
One of the reasons the project is proposed now is concern that the Tracy Hall boilers could fail sooner, rather than later. If the boilers “were to fail, [they] would have to be replaced quickly and that would lock the facility into fossil-fuel heating for another 25 years,” according to the Article 8 FAQ.
“If” is the operative word. Let’s examine some known facts.
First, to require a replacement, both boilers would need to break down beyond repair. The Selectboard and Town Manager do not see that as a real world probability, based on the last two budgets. Replacing the boilers will cost about $240,000. There is no specific line item in the last two budgets setting aside funds for such an expense.
Indeed, the Tracy Hall building designated fund is inadequate to cover such an expense. As of June, it contained about $46,000. That amount is to cover contingencies for the entire building.
In contrast, the sidewalk designated fund had $80,000. The current budget sets aside more money for emergency generators than it does for all of Tracy Hall.
In addition, neither boiler has broken down during Town Manager Durfee’s tenure here, according to his email to me. I can’t recall the boilers ever coming up in substantive discussion at a Selectboard meeting, until recently and then by EEI, as a reason to move forward with geothermal.
Finally, at the Information Session held on February 23, as seen on CATV, Aaron Lamperti of the Norwich Energy Committee spoke about the boilers lasting 5 to 10 years. CATV video at 37 minutes.
Ventilation
Another reason advanced for doing geothermal now is that the ventilation does not meet building code standards. That is not an accurate statement.
Tracy Hall is in compliance. It is grandfathered in, like thousands of other buildings that exist when the building code changes. It is not a sick building. The Town’s employees are not at risk. No code enforcement officer is knocking on the Town Manager’s door.
As with the boilers, the first substantive discussion I recall the Selectboard having about the ventilation system was as a rationale to move forward with geothermal.
My understanding is that it only makes sense to upgrade the ventilation system because of all the interior work being done to install geothermal. Otherwise, an upgrade is not pressing. If it were, the cost according to EEI, in round numbers, is $169,000. Hardly enough to justify spending $2 million
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