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Hollis School Board to host public forum on energy study

HOLLIS – The Hollis School Board will host its third and final Energy Study Public Forum from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, at the Hollis Primary School Library, 36 Silver Lake Road.

The presentation will include details of the energy study, recommended project proposal, and project funding method for the district school buildings’ heating systems and building energy efficiency improvements.

The public forum will provide a presentation on the final building energy efficiency and heating system improvements that the school board will bring to the voters for approval at the annual district meeting on March 7. A prior public forum held in October presented the full range of options considered at that time, with detailed cost benefit analysis. Based in part on public input received at that forum, the board decided on the preferred project components and a proposal to finance the project using a 10-year municipal lease purchase. All members of the public are invited to attend and ask questions relative to the proposed project.

An advisory group to the project comprised of Hollis School Board and Hollis Energy Committee members, called the Energy Study Working Group, began meeting in April 2016, shortly after the Hollis School District Annual Meeting, at which voters approved the funding of a $100,000 warrant article to complete a heating needs assessment for the Hollis Upper Elementary and Primary Schools. With the aid of outside consultants Innovative Natural Resource Solutions LLC and HotZero LLC of Concord, the study included project planning, engineering and other professional services evaluations to determine a final vetted recommendation.

The recommended project components were voted on by the school board on Jan. 4 and will be presented for consideration by the voters at the annual meeting. Major elements of the project include:

? Insulation and new windows for the Hollis Primary School.

? Air source heat pumps to provide primary heating for the Hollis Primary School.

? New propane boilers for Hollis Upper Elementary School.

? Two roof-top solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays – one for each school.

? LED lighting for both schools.

? Additional efficiency improvements throughout both buildings to reduce energy usage.

Transcripts, videos, and minutes from previous meetings and forums are available on the SAU website, www.sau41.org/energy-study. Additional information may also be found on our Facebook page, at hollisschoolboardESWG.

– Submitted by

the Hollis School Board