Cheshire Community House Boilers to Be Repaired

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
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CHESHIRE, Mass. — The aging boilers in the Community House will be repaired until a new system can be completed. 
 
The town's Smith cast-iron boilers were installed in 2005. Only one of the two boilers is working and the functional one is failing. It was explained that the furnaces were supplementing each other.
 
"We need to do something sooner than later, because we're having problems with the boilers right now," Town Administrator Jennifer Morse said. 
 
Both furnaces have issues such as serious internal blockages, extensive calcium and rust buildup, and ongoing leaks.
 
During its meeting on Tuesday, the Select Board approved a quote from Jamrog HVAC for the repairs of the boiler that has been out of order.
 
Jamrog was the lowest bidder out of the three submissions at $47,905 and the repairs include installing the nine new sections, new rope and seals, new breach, and new low-water cut-off. 
 
Additionally, its services include a certified welder, torque to specification, the reinstallation of the existing jacket, burner, and smoke pipe, and firing up the boiler for test operation.
 
During a previous meeting, Department of Public Works Director Corey McGrath explained how at this point, any repair measures are temporary fixes and continued repairs are becoming more costly than it is worth. 
 
At the previous meeting, he presented to the board a mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering and design-services proposal from Tighe & Bond Designer Services. More information here

Tags: HVAC,   town hall,   

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Hoosac Valley Seeks to Prevent 'Volatile' Assessments

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
ADAMS, Mass.— The "volatile" shifts in Hoosac Valley Regional School District's town assessments year to year is hard for smaller towns to absorb; however, a proposed change to the regional agreement would fix that. 
 
During the Select Board meeting last week, Superintendent Aaron Dean presented the proposed change to the regional agreement that would set assessments based on a five-year rolling average rather than the annual student enrollment.
 
"The long-term goal is to make the assessment process a little bit more viable for people from year-to-year," he said. 
 
An ad hoc committee was convened to review the district's agreement, during which concerns arose about the rapid fluctuations in assessments.
 
"I think you have to look short term, and you have to look long term. The goal is to kind of level it off and make planning easier and flatten that curve in terms of how it's going to impact both communities," Dean said. 
 
Every year, it is a little more difficult for one community because they are feeling disproportionately impacted compared to the other, he said. 
 
"The transient nature of this population right now is like nothing I've ever seen," Dean said. 
 
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