The city snagged a $557,500 energy conservation grant this week that will provide federal cash to pay for new boilers at City Hall and energy audits of many municipal buildings.
“This is pretty exciting stuff,” said Robyn Bugbee, the city’s grants administrator.
The energy efficiency and conservation block grant, which the city asked for last spring after one of its boilers blew up, should allow for the reduction of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, energy use and costs, officials said.
Justin Malley, the city’s assistant grants administrator, said the federal cash will cover the tab for replacing the two aging boilers that a contractor is already in the process of yanking out of City Hall.
The new natural gas boilers that will take their place are more energy efficient and cleaner, Malley said.
In addition to paying for the badly needed boilers, the money will be used for energy audits of city buildings to come up with a list of proposals for slashing utility expenses, Malley said.
Malley said that officials hope there will be some money left over after the audits to pay for the implementation of the energy conservation suggestions.
City councilors unanimously approved a contract last month with East Hartford’s H.H.S. Mechanical Contractors for $147,000 to get the boiler work done before winter sets in.
*******
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Showing posts with label boiler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label boiler. Show all posts
October 22, 2009
September 30, 2009
No, they can't use politicians' hot air to heat City Hall...
The city is hustling to replace massive heat-producing boilers before the chill of winter sets in.
City councilors unanimously approved a contract Wednesday with East Hartford’s H.H.S. Mechanical Contractors for $147,000 to get the work done as quickly as possible.
Public works officials have been scrambling to deal with the two old boilers since one of them blew up in March, spewing asbestos throughout the basement furnace room and into the air ducts.
City Hall was shut down for a couple of days – on a weekend – so massive fans could blow any contamination out of the building. Specialized contractors cleaned up the sealed-off furnace room.
Mayor Art Ward said the last piece of the puzzle is to get the new boilers in place.
“It’ll be done before winter,” Ward said, because the timing is worked out.
City Councilor Kevin McCauley said that if something does go wrong, the city has a backup plan to heat the building.
A temporary heating system can be used, said McCauley, who heads the city’s Building Committee.
The boilers have been in the building since its construction almost half a century ago.
The new ones should cut energy costs sharply, officials said, because of the greater efficiency of boilers made today. They will also use natural gas instead of heating oil, officials said.
A consultant recommended two years ago that the city replace the steam-driven boilers with ones that use warm water instead. But the cost and difficulty of removing the boilers put the project on the back burner.
*******
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
City councilors unanimously approved a contract Wednesday with East Hartford’s H.H.S. Mechanical Contractors for $147,000 to get the work done as quickly as possible.
Public works officials have been scrambling to deal with the two old boilers since one of them blew up in March, spewing asbestos throughout the basement furnace room and into the air ducts.
City Hall was shut down for a couple of days – on a weekend – so massive fans could blow any contamination out of the building. Specialized contractors cleaned up the sealed-off furnace room.
Mayor Art Ward said the last piece of the puzzle is to get the new boilers in place.
“It’ll be done before winter,” Ward said, because the timing is worked out.
City Councilor Kevin McCauley said that if something does go wrong, the city has a backup plan to heat the building.
A temporary heating system can be used, said McCauley, who heads the city’s Building Committee.
The boilers have been in the building since its construction almost half a century ago.
The new ones should cut energy costs sharply, officials said, because of the greater efficiency of boilers made today. They will also use natural gas instead of heating oil, officials said.
A consultant recommended two years ago that the city replace the steam-driven boilers with ones that use warm water instead. But the cost and difficulty of removing the boilers put the project on the back burner.
*******
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
April 23, 2009
City Hall to get new, efficient heating system by winter
The city plans to remove the boiler that blew up last month – as well as its aging twin – and to replace them with a high-efficiency burner that should cost considerably less to operate.
Public Works Director Walter Veselka said Thursday that natural gas would fuel the new burner rather than heating oil.
Officials plan to hire a design engineer in May and to bid out the project in July, with the goal of having the new heating system in place before winter.
Just in case, though, part of the deal will be to work out an alternative source of heat if the new system isn’t quite ready, Veselka said.
Mayor Art Ward said the city will be better off with a heating system that won’t break down and burns more efficiently. He said it’s possible that federal stimulus money may be available to pay for some of it.
Though officials have long eyed the possibility of replacing the aging boilers, they had put it off because of the expense.
But on March 20, one of the two heating boilers blew up, sending smoke and asbestos fibers through the ducts and knocking the door off the ground floor mechanical room.
City Hall itself had to be closed for a day, but since it happened over a weekend, it didn’t matter much.
The mechanical room remains sealed off as contractors continue to remove the asbestos.
Veselka said a request for engineering services has been published and a contract may be approved as soon as May’s City Council session.
The Building Committee plans to meet at 5 p.m., Monday, May 11 to endorse a contractor to the council the following day.
*******
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Public Works Director Walter Veselka said Thursday that natural gas would fuel the new burner rather than heating oil.
Officials plan to hire a design engineer in May and to bid out the project in July, with the goal of having the new heating system in place before winter.
Just in case, though, part of the deal will be to work out an alternative source of heat if the new system isn’t quite ready, Veselka said.
Mayor Art Ward said the city will be better off with a heating system that won’t break down and burns more efficiently. He said it’s possible that federal stimulus money may be available to pay for some of it.
Though officials have long eyed the possibility of replacing the aging boilers, they had put it off because of the expense.
But on March 20, one of the two heating boilers blew up, sending smoke and asbestos fibers through the ducts and knocking the door off the ground floor mechanical room.
City Hall itself had to be closed for a day, but since it happened over a weekend, it didn’t matter much.
The mechanical room remains sealed off as contractors continue to remove the asbestos.
Veselka said a request for engineering services has been published and a contract may be approved as soon as May’s City Council session.
The Building Committee plans to meet at 5 p.m., Monday, May 11 to endorse a contractor to the council the following day.
*******
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
March 25, 2009
Explosion at City Hall
Shortly after 4 p.m. last Friday, one of the city's two heating boilers blew up, sending smoke and asbestos fibers through the ducts and knocking the door off the ground floor mechanical room.
Air tests done on Saturday morning showed that asbestos fibers were hanging in the air at unsafe levels in at least a couple locations at City Hall, which forced the complete closure of the building while experts dealt with the problem, officials said.
What they did was to run high-powered fans with lots of filters on ever floor for a day to replace all of the air in the building several times over.
Tests on Sunday determined that the asbestos was gone, except from the mechanical room where the boiler is located. It is completely sealed off now.
What happens next is that a cleanup firm is going to go in to the sealed off room wearing those spaceman-type suits and take care of the mess.
I'll have the details later about what seems to have happened, but it appears the city may have to replace one or both of its half century-old boilers at City Hall, a potentially costly necessity.
In the meantime, city officials say the building is safe for employees and the public.
More to come on all of this later. I only heard it about late yesterday but I've got a lot to pass on now.
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)