Planning Board Meeting 10/28/14

How are the budget projections working out for the wood chip boiler?

The woodchip boiler will be discussed at tonight's Planning Board meeting.

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School addresses biomass project, safety concerns

Eryn Dion
News Staff Writer

TEMPLETON - Narragansett School District Superintendent Ruth Miller and the district’s Director of Building and Grounds Bill Clabaugh appeared before the Planning Board Tuesday night to address safety concerns that have been raised surrounding the district’s biomass boiler project for the middle and high school.

The meeting served as a continuation of the Planning Board’s Oct. 7 public hearing, when Chairman Kirk Moschetti raised the issue of large delivery trucks trying to maneuver in the already-cramped central office parking lot, as well as general unease about decisions being made concerning the project without the consultation of the Planning Board.

Ms. Miller said she hoped to clear up any apprehension regarding the safety of students and staff — explaining that provisions have already been put in place to limit access to the back parking lot during regular school hours.

“We have changed the parking lot and how it’s used starting before this school year,” Ms. Miller told Planning Board members. “We do not have buses or kids going there to be picked up or dropped off.”

Ms. Miller told the board that the parking lot in question is currently off-limits for much of the day, with the exception of a 45-minute block in the morning when middle school students are dropped off by parents. All other drop-off and pick-up points have been moved to the front of the school, and the middle school staff now parks in the front and side parking lots on the property.

“From a traffic pattern, safety perspective, our vision is that the back parking lot will be ‘trucks only’ for a big part of the day,” Ms. Miller stated.

According to Mr. Clabaugh, during peak times between January and February, the school expects to receive  about three deliveries of wood chips each week, which will be unloaded into a storage shed that will be built as an addition off the school’s current boiler room.

Andy Truman, of Samiotes Consultants Inc., presented the board with a diagram projecting the path a delivery truck would make if there were no cars in the parking lot — demonstrating that there is ample room for the truck and trailer to pull into the lot and reverse toward the loading dock.

“It’s one continuous movement,” Mr. Truman said.

Mr. Clabaugh said the path had been tested by a truck pulling a 56-foot trailer and that it made the swing with “no problem.” He also added that the school presently receives oil deliveries from trucks pulling into the back parking lot and has been for some time with no reported issues.

Ms. Miller agreed that delivery times should be contractually restricted to between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. once the district goes out to bid for wood chip suppliers.

The school’s old boiler and underground storage tank have already been removed and replaced with two propane boilers that Ms. Miller said will meet the building’s needs until the woodchip-fired boiler can be installed.

The Planning Board has not yet issued permits regarding the project. The board’s consultant stated he would review the plans that have been submitted and report back during the Oct. 28 board meeting.