Cheshire Community House Boilers to Be Repaired

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
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CHESHIRE, Mass. — The aging boilers in the Community House will be repaired until a new system can be completed. 
 
The town's Smith cast-iron boilers were installed in 2005. Only one of the two boilers is working and the functional one is failing. It was explained that the furnaces were supplementing each other.
 
"We need to do something sooner than later, because we're having problems with the boilers right now," Town Administrator Jennifer Morse said. 
 
Both furnaces have issues such as serious internal blockages, extensive calcium and rust buildup, and ongoing leaks.
 
During its meeting on Tuesday, the Select Board approved a quote from Jamrog HVAC for the repairs of the boiler that has been out of order.
 
Jamrog was the lowest bidder out of the three submissions at $47,905 and the repairs include installing the nine new sections, new rope and seals, new breach, and new low-water cut-off. 
 
Additionally, its services include a certified welder, torque to specification, the reinstallation of the existing jacket, burner, and smoke pipe, and firing up the boiler for test operation.
 
During a previous meeting, Department of Public Works Director Corey McGrath explained how at this point, any repair measures are temporary fixes and continued repairs are becoming more costly than it is worth. 
 
At the previous meeting, he presented to the board a mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering and design-services proposal from Tighe & Bond Designer Services. More information here

Tags: HVAC,   town hall,   

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Cheshire Gets Grants for Bridge and Culvert Repairs

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
CHESHIRE, Mass. — The town has been awarded two grants to address the decaying condition of a bridge and a culvert on Lanesborough Road. 
 
The funding comes through the Municipal Small Bridge Program and the Community Culvert Program, both of which the town applied to last year. 
 
The state Department of Transportation will be reconstructing Good Life Bridge, as part of its Municipal Small Bridge Program, and repairing a deficient culvert on the same street over an unnamed stream as part of its Community Culvert Program.
 
The projects are being advanced by an engineering firm selected by MassDOT, which will develop a needs assessment and scope of the project, which will be reviewed and approved by the town and state before work begins. The firms selected for the project will invoice the state directly for all work conducted. 
 
According to the state website, Good Life Bridge was last inspected in January 2025, and rated as structurally deficient. Its deck and superstructure are in poor condition and the substructure is in fair condition. 
 
The steel stringer/girder bridge carries traffic along an east–west roadway and was built in 1916, then subsequently widened to the north shortly thereafter, a state Structures Inspection Field Report from January 2023, said. 
 
The report said that records indicated repairs were performed in the 1990’s when several beams were installed. 
 
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