by Jackie Nunnery
HEATHSVILLE—Supervisors in Northumberland on Thursday, November 9, agreed to move forward with the reengineering of the wastewater treatment plant and replacement of two boiler systems at the elementary school, but want more fiscal foresight and planning to take place so that the county can plan for the expenditures.
Director of facilities and maintenance for Northumberland schools Jeff Brann informed the board the elementary school’s two 28-year-old boilers had reached the end of their useful life and would need to be replaced at a cost of approximately $175,000. He said one boiler had malfunctioned causing “significant heat damage rendering it inoperable” and that the other boiler is currently working but beginning to show signs of the same problem. If approved, he wants to complete the replacements over winter break.
Supervisor Thomas Tomlin expressed concern that long-term plans for replacement of capital equipment were not being considered. “We’ve got stuff that’s aging out, we’ve got to plan to replace it so we don’t get caught.”
Brann said he had included the boilers in capital improvement requests for the last four years….