PARIS — Two planned improvements to the Oxford County Courthouse will be delayed until  spring.

A wood pellet boiler won’t be installed this year, and the majority of needed roof work will likely be delayed, as some of the materials used require temperatures of at least 40 degrees.

County Administrator Scott Cole said the wood pellet boiler has been delayed due to more pressing matters, like changes at the jail, in recent months, and because the boiler would require building a separate structure for storing pellets that won’t be installed in time for winter.

The project hit a setback when David Kyl, an engineer the commission hired for the project, moved out of state. Before leaving, however, Kyl did help the county commission write a grant application to the U.S. Department of Energy, for which the county received about $235,000.

With Kyl gone, Cole has spoken with a new energy consultant.

Cole said that money is already in a county account. When the grant application was written, the plan was to put the wood pellet boiler inside the courthouse. However, the large storage space required for pellets as opposed to heating oil require a standalone structure to house the boiler.

Converting the courthouse to wood-pellet heating was a top goal for Commissioner Caldwell Jackson when he ran in 2007. Jackson recently won re-election for the seat with about 64 percent of the vote.

“It creates Maine jobs,” Jackson said of wood-pellet heat, “instead of spending the money overseas.”

Cole reported that one of the courthouse’s two oil-burning boilers has been failing, and that replacing it would cost about $24,000. One boiler is enough to heat the entire courthouse, but the building has traditionally used the second as a backup.

Commissioners will discuss at their next meeting whether to replace the second boiler or wait until next year to replace it with a wood pellet boiler.

The commission also heard a proposal from John Ferland of Hahnel Brothers on costs to repair the roof and cupola. Commissioners approved the cupola work at Ferland’s estimate of $7,140, but the roof work will probably wait until the spring.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if if gets put off until next year. It’s not a chronic problem,” Cole said.

Cole said in the meantime, a water collection system using plastic sheets above the courtroom ceiling funnels stormwater into buckets downstairs. It works for 95 percent of storms, he said.

On windy, rainy days, however, rain is sometimes driven in through gaps.

The county is funding the cupola and roof repair in advance of a courtroom renovation next summer. Cole said the state assists in paying for the building renovations, but “the state doesn’t fix roofs,” Cole said. “That’s where they draw the line.”

The Oxford County Commission will meet again on Dec. 14.

[email protected]