DALTON, Mass. — Town Manager Tom Hutcheson informed the Green Dalton Committee last Wednesday that Hill Engineering confused the Town Hall/Library project with another project that had been put on hold. 

 

It is unclear how the engineering company got that idea but Building Grounds Superintendent Patrick Pettit informed them to resume working on the project, Hutcheson said. 

 

Hill Engineering is working on two roof studies for the town. One is for the library to see if the roof can be insulated and the other is for Town Hall to see if the roof structure can support solar panels. 

 

The solar panel project was postponed until March 13 so that Hill can get a better view of the timber once all the plaster is removed, Pettit said in a follow-up conversation. 

 

Hutcheson said that when Pettit called looking for an update on the library project, the engineering company informed him of the misunderstanding and that they had not been working on it. 

 

The Green Dalton Committee is also waiting on a feasibility analysis that would determine the building's structural capability if heat pumps were installed and what size heating pump would the building be able to handle.

 

The current study just includes the library roof, not the rest of the building at the moment. 

 

This is a multiphase project that would take several years to complete but it cannot get started until it is known whether or not the building can support heat pumps. 

 

The results of this study would help the committee determine the best way to make the town library energy efficient. 

 

Committee member Dr. Thomas Irwin said the project started in March of last year and that they are approaching a full year and still have not gotten a report. 

 

He said he was frustrated because he was informed that Green Dalton Committee members are not allowed to contact Hill Engineers to ask them for updates. 

 

Irwin argued that the committee should be allowed to have a point person to contact Hill Engineering for updates.

 

Committee member David Wasielewski said it is important that a report is filed soon because there is a spring deadline for grants. 

 

The analysis that the committee is waiting on is the one that will determine whether the building can support a heating pump on the roof so there isn't a grant resting on the results from Hill Engineering, Irwin said. 

 

Having this analysis done is important because it would allow the committee to move forward on the next engineering project with the hope to have that done in enough time to be ready for the fall grant cycle, Irwin said. 

 

Hutcheson said he will relay this information as quickly as possible.