The Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor CSD Board of Trustees meeting on Feb. 1 was dominated by several reports from Facilities/Transportation Director and Safety Officer Dave Benner. Cracked boilers, fuel price lock-ins and a visit from the Red Cross were among his topics.

In 2006, Boothbay Region High School switched from steam to hot water heat by installing two new Weil-McLain boilers. According to Benner, the boilers worked well for about eight years, until 2014, when cracks began to appear in sections of both boilers. Five cracks have appeared within two years. A technician who services the boilers has told Benner this is highly unusual.

At a meeting with Benner and AOS 98 Superintendent Eileen King, the technician mentioned the problem might be site-dependent. The technician believes one event in 2014 may have triggered the potential for the cracks. Benner said he thinks it might be thermal shock. Meetings on a potential solution are ongoing, and Benner said in the meantime, the boilers have been put into a mode that will put less pressure on them than the usual method of setting an automatic timer that raises and lowers the temperature according to when schools are occupied; the temperature in the school has been lowered by a couple of degrees.

Benner also reported he is in the process of trying to lock in a fuel price for 2018. The AOS 98 fuel contract expires at the end of June 2018, and Benner has been talking to the C.N. Brown Oil Company regarding rates. Currently, the AOS 98 school district is paying $1.549 per gallon. The next negotiation will change that price from a flat price to prices that differ according to the size of the truck used and the amount of oil ordered.

“Every year, it's a roll of the dice, but we usually do better if we wait until March. If we lock in then, we can still make a reduction in the budget before we go to town meeting,” said King.

Trustee Board Chairman Christopher Buchanan suggested the lock-in price be put on hold for another month, and King said she would contact colleagues to see what other districts are paying. Benner agreed to wait.

Benner told trustees the Red Cross recently visited Boothbay Region Elementary School to check out the school’s readiness in case it needs to provide emergency shelter. “They were pleased with our facility,” he reported. He also mentioned the Red Cross had visited the YMCA. Because the Y is in a flood zone area, its basement could flood during an emergency. “Generally, we would be the first shelter, but the Y is secondary,” said Benner.

The last major weather emergency to hit the Boothbay area was Hurricane Bob, which struck the area in August 1991. “We held over a 1,000 people here,” said Benner. It was mentioned that the Boothbay Fire Department is also a designated warming shelter. The Red Cross thanked Benner for his hospitality, saying not all towns were so welcoming.

Ronnie Campbell, the newest member of the board, joined the rest of the trustees for the meeting. The next meeting is March 1 at 5:15 p.m., in the BRHS library.