RICHMOND, Mass. — Voters will consider two articles authorizing funding for the replacement of the heating system within Town Hall at a special town meeting slated Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall.
How much the replacement will cost won't be known until the day of the special meeting.
The town solicited bids in early September for the replacement of the inefficient steam boiler and forced hot-air system that provides heat to the building. Bids for the project will be opened at 2 p.m. on that Wednesday so that the town meeting will be able to vote on the actual cost of the project.
The source of the funding is proposed to be the Town Hall Stabilization Account that was established in 2007 primarily to fund the cost of replacing the heating system.
"The heating system within Town Hall has well exceeded its useful life and needs to be replaced. The steam boiler dates back to the 1940s and the hot-air system was installed in the late 1960s. It is time for them to be retired," said Town Administrator Matthew Kerwood.
The goal of replacing these systems is to provide greater energy efficiency thus saving the taxpayers money on the cost of heating the building. Secondary benefits include improving the air quality within the building's downstairs offices as a result of a new forced hot air system, and to bring the system into compliance with the current building code.
The town plans to have the new systems installed by the end of October.
"We are certainly on a tight time line with this project, but felt that with the slow economy we could get a better price now rather than waiting until spring," said Kerwood.
Information provided by the town of Richmond.
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