STRONG — The proposed town energy plan on the March town meeting warrant will be the subject of an informational hearing at 6 p.m. Feb. 6 at the Forster Memorial Building.

After a year of studies and meetings, the town’s volunteer Energy Team has drafted a proposal for improvements, which also include enacting a Strong Property Assessed Clean Energy  Ordinance on March 6.

“We have to approve an ordinance if we want to finance energy improvements through Efficiency Maine’s resources,” Selectman and Energy Team member Milt Baston said at the Tuesday night selectmen’s meeting. “We can still make improvements without an ordinance, but we’d be more limited in our financial resources.”

Efficiency Maine was, until 2009, part of the Maine Public Utilities Commission. Using federal stimulus money, it proposed a revolving loan fund to finance energy efficiency improvements to buildings in Maine. The Legislature passed the PACE law in 2010.

The Strong team plans to apply for a $36,200 grant, and voters on March 6 also will have to approve their share, $3,600, to qualify. The money would be used to pay for the energy-saving improvements.

“We looked at the town garage for possibly installing a pellet boiler there, but all the bids we got were exorbitant amounts of money for million-BTU boilers,” team member Robert Worthley said. “Buddy Kempton, one of our committee members, priced them out, and there aren’t many that can be sold in Maine because of the emission standards.”

The Forster Memorial Building, which houses the library, town offices, meeting rooms, auditorium and dining hall, was the ideal candidate for a wood pellet boiler, Baston said the Energy Team decided. Spending the money to buy one in the $40,000 to $45,000 ranges makes sense, since the office building is across the street from the Geneva Wood Pellet plant, he said the team advised. A ton of pellets would replace 120 gallons of heating oil.

Worthley became involved when the town got funding to hire a consultant, and he stayed on as a member of the committee.

“From what we’ve talked about so far, we can save money putting insulation into the Forster Building, and we’ll see significant savings with a pellet boiler,” Worthley said.

Besides additional insulation, the committee will put LED bulbs in exit signs, install digital thermostats and replace 13 older windows.

“The building’s oil burner heats water every day, all day, even when the building is closed,” Baston said. “The cost to install an on-demand propane hot water heater will be approximately $1,500, and the money we save will pay for that in one year.”

In other news, selectmen agreed unanimously to send a warning letter to nearly 20 households which plow snow across town roads. While some are careful not to leave hazardous frozen chunks in the roadway, Maine law prohibits the practice.

“Maybe somebody didn’t do it this storm, but maybe they might the next one,” road foreman Duayne Boyd said.

Selectmen will post a notice in local newspapers. If residents ignore the warning, selectmen can ask local police to step in. The same law will apply to snowmobile trail maintenance vehicle operators.

Editor’s Note: Valerie Tucker has a personal relationship with Strong Selectman Milt Baston.