The agenda includes a request for funding to repair a leaky roof on the old FiberMark building.
SOUTH HADLEY – Broken boilers, the FiberMark building, the Ledges golf course, liability insurance and an “Energy Performance Contract” are among the matters on the warrant for the special Town Meeting on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.
The Energy Performance Contract represents an effort to invest in energy-saving systems. It was expected to be on the warrant of a fall Town Meeting, but the breakdown of two boilers at Town Hall has added urgency to the schedule.
Siemens Industries was hired by South Hadley last year to do an energy audit of municipal buildings and to submit recommendations.
Now the town is being asked to authorize the Selectboard to continue the relationship with Siemens. The company would take over the process of implementing the solutions they advised, from bids to installation and everything in between.
The alternative would be to hire consultants and contractors for each step of the process, which in the end could prove more costly.
The broken boilers, the subject of another warrant article, unleashed a lively debate at a joint meeting of the Selectboard and the Appropriations Committee last week.
The Selectboard proposed that Siemens be engaged to take care of it. But members of the Capital Planning Committee argued that the job could be done more cheaply than the $107,000 all-inclusive bill that Siemens proposed.
Capital Planning wants to lower the cost to $80,000, and said there were people in town who could give them a break on “soft costs” such as installation.
Others replied that the town risked winding up with a below-par product and faulty installation that would put it back in its current situation – saddled with a useless product after only seven years.
The entire “Energy Performance Contract” with Siemens, covering schools and municipal buildings, was estimated at $500,000 at the time the warrant was printed.
That has since been reduced to less than $300,000. Siemens spokesman Jerry Drummond said the company has been getting lower-than-expected bids for specific projects.
Also on the warrant are requests for funding to repair a leaky roof and other damage in the old FiberMark building, which may be rehabilitated. There has been disagreement on whether to use a temporary roof or to hire Siemens for a more lasting solution.
The FiberMark building is across the street from the site of the proposed new library, which seems closer than ever since a $4.8 million provisional grant was announced Thursday.
Town Meeting members will also vote on payment to Meadowbrook Golf, which provided interim management services to the town-owned golf course, The Ledges, this spring.
Selectmen are seeking a professional golfing outfit to manage The Ledges and are requesting the town authorize them to increase the contract length for up to 10 years, in the event that this allows them more bargaining power.
The town’s bill for liability insurance was $10,000 more than was expected, so that’s on the warrant, too.