MINOT — Local officials have expressed interest in applying for state and federal funding for town projects aimed at environmental preparedness and energy efficiency.
At a meeting Monday of the Board of Selectmen, Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments representative Zach Gosselin presented an overview of the Community Resilience Partnership Program in an effort to gauge the town’s interest.
If the town were to participate, it could apply for up to $50,000 of state and federal money four times for up to a total of $200,000 for projects that would fall under the program’s mission.
No local money would be spent.
Town Administrator Danielle Loring said money from the program could be used to pay for any or all three projects that local officials have identified as needed.
One of the projects would be to assess so-called “dry hydrants” for fire ponds within the town’s boundaries, Loring said.
The town would like to better understand its water capacity in relation to both firefighting and with respect to foreseeable drought conditions, Loring said.
The assessment would help the town determine whether or not it needs to make improvements in order to make the dry fire hydrants ready when there’s a fire call and to gauge whether or not they would be able to sustain the drought conditions the town has been experiencing, Loring said.
Another project identified by the board is a formal assessment of the town’s assets, such as building equipment, Loring said.
An assessment would help determine the life expectancy of existing facilities’ equipment as well as identify any potential energy efficiency upgrades that may be available, she said.
In the event that equipment, such as a building’s furnace, were to stop working, an assessment would help determine whether the purchase of a new furnace, conversion to a different energy source or possibly building into the system some redundancy to reduce demand on that heating appliance is the best way to approach the issue, Loring said.
The third project eyed by officials would be a feasibility study aimed at determining whether or not the town should build a sand and salt shed, Loring said.
Having that structure would reduce the town’s impact on its environmental resources as well as allow it to increase its storage capacity, which Loring said would be beneficial from a purchasing standpoint as well as from a utilization standpoint.
With a storage shed, the town could purchase in advance enough salt and sand to last a full season, she said. The town is only able to store smaller amounts that run out and need to be resupplied during the winter months, causing delays in proper road maintenance if salt and sand deliveries are held up due to back-to-back storms.
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