The Tunkhannock Area School Board on Thursday approved the purchase of a new dual-fuel boiler system for the district administration building, at a cost of $847,859.
The two oil-fueled boilers at the building date from 1989, have been repaired multiple times and need to be replaced, district Director of Facilities John Shepulski told board members.
The new boiler system — from Scranton Electric Heating & Cooling, Inc., which submitted the lowest bid for the project — will be capable of burning both fuel oil and natural gas. That will allow the district to use up the supply of oil it has in stock, Shepulski said.
The eventual switch from oil to natural gas will save the district money via reduced energy costs, he said.
Along with the purchase and installation of the new boiler, the board voted to apply for a Public School Facility Improvement grant of $635,894 from the Commonwealth Finance Authority to help defray the cost of the boiler replacement.
Board member Kari Hilbert-Oshirak cast the lone no vote on the joint motion.
After the meeting, board President Holly Arnold said the intention is to hook up the boiler to natural gas “for the long haul,” after the supply of oil is depleted.
At its May 21 meeting, the board authorized the engineering firm CHA Consulting to develop plans to replace the boiler at the administration building.
At that meeting, Shepulski said the boiler system at the building was inefficient and too large. If the board approved the boiler replacement project, the goal would be to have the new boiler in place and operational by October, in time for the winter heating season, he said.