PARIS — Selectmen voted to request more information on how to proceed in replacing two failed boilers in the fire station.

After a presentation by Steve Nelson of Turner Building Science and Design in Harrison, selectmen decided the scope of Nelson’s report was less than they needed to make a decision on how to replace boilers at the Paris Fire Station.

The boiler, first installed in the relatively new fire station, failed years ago, and this year two propane boilers installed to replace it also failed.

Paris Fire Chief Brad Frost said the new boilers, which were used to heat the building’s water and run the radiant floor heat in the garage, had to be reset often on especially cold days.

Turner had originally quoted the town $3,200 for a study that included an analysis of cost differences between propane and pellet heat, as well as an investigation of what caused the previous two systems to fail.

The board negotiated a less comprehensive study for $1,000. Nelson brought the results of a cost analysis between pellet heat and propane. The installation for a pellet system could cost $93,000 to $108,000 because it would require external storage of pellets and a vacuum system to feed them to the boiler.

Replacing the propane boilers would cost the town $20,000 to $30,000, Nelson said. However, if the cost of propane rises 50 cents per year, he said, the town could make back the money it spent on a pellet system in as few as 15 years. If the cost of propane remains constant, it would take 35 years for the town to begin saving money.

Nelson said it was unclear how long pellet boilers would last, but allowed that a boiler could die before that 35 years is up.

Skip Bennett of Maine Energy Systems in Bethel was at the meeting and offered to provide a more detailed estimate on how much a new pellet system could cost.

Selectmen voted to pay the additional $2,200 for the complete study originally quoted by Turner. After Nelson left, they authorized Town Manager Phil Tarr, along with Selectman Robert Kirchherr, to speak with the Turner firm and negotiate a new contract with additional information.

Bennett said someone from Maine Energy Systems will install pellet installation and cost figures at the next Board of Selectmen meeting.

Selectmen also disagreed on whether Nelson’s report gave all the information agreed upon in the $1,000 contract.

The board will revisit the issue at its Aug. 22 meeting.

treaves@sunjournal.com

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