NORWICH — As winter approaches, the ongoing town debate over heating upgrades at Tracy Hall has taken on new urgency as the building’s aged boiler system starts to show signs of failure.

Residents generally agree that Tracy Hall’s oil heating system needs to be replaced. The building is served by a pair of oil boilers that run in alternate cycles — which also provides a backup in case one unit goes down.

Both boilers were installed 29 years ago and are “at the end of their useful life,” according to Interim Town Manager Brennan Duffy.

Only one boiler is operational at present. The second boiler, which began emitting smoke last winter, is out of service and awaiting repair.

“When they’re both working, it’s fairly consistent that we’ll have a heating system (through the cold-weather months),” Duffy said. “But they are old enough that it’s a concern.”

Duffy, as well as energy consultants, have recommended purchasing a modern and more energy-efficient upgrade to replace the broken boiler at an estimated cost of $35,000.

But with residents calling to end the town’s reliance on fossil fuels, Selectboard members are divided over both the short-term and long-term solutions to Tracy Hall’s heating issue. This includes whether to replace the broken boiler, which the Selectboard voted down, 2-2, with one abstention, at a July 28 meeting.

Chairperson Marcia Calloway and Vice Chairperson Mary Layton voted in the minority for seeking a replacement. Board members Roger Arnold and Pamela Smith voted against it and board member Priscilla Vincent abstained.

Complicating the board’s decision is Article 36, a measure passed in 2019 by town voters, 792-189, which asks officials to phase out the town’s use of fossil fuels at a minimum reduction rate of 5% a year.

A majority of Selectboard members are against purchasing a new oil boiler when residents wish to move away from fossil fuels.

“If we have a new boiler in place, we will kick that decision down the road,” Arnold said at the June 28 meeting.

The Selectboard has instead voted to authorize repairs of the broken boiler and to direct Duffy to create an emergency work plan in the event that heat stops operating at Tracy Hall this winter.

Duffy said he has ordered the repairs, though the service contractors had to order new parts and Duffy does not know when those parts will arrive.

“But we still have another two months to get that done (before building heating is needed),” Duffy said. “And I have no reason to believe that they won’t, as they’ve always been very responsive to us.”

Should there be a loss of building heat, Duffy said that nearly all the town employees are able to work remotely from home. The only exception would be the town clerk’s staff, as they need to have access to town records.

“There’s been ongoing discussion of what we could do there, such as to get electric heaters to keep that workplace comfortable, or conceivably the town clerk could gather records and deliver them to somebody offsite,” Duffy said. “My feeling is that it is unlikely that we would be without heat for such an extended period of time that we would actually have to rent new office space.”

But even if the boilers last another winter, Duffy noted that each passing year increases the risk of a more serious breakdown that leaves Tracy Hall without heat.

The Selectboard is still deliberating on a heating system upgrade that would satisfy the town’s carbon-reduction goals. On July 12, the board voted to seek an architectural study of Tracy Hall to determine ways to maximize its space and operating efficiency — which will include an energy assessment.

Town residents are currently divided on what type of heating system to install.

In 2020, voters were asked to fund $2 million in energy-efficiency upgrades at Tracy Hall, including the installation of a ground-source heat pump — a type of geothermal system that provides both heating and cooling to a building.

Proponents said the project would replace the town hall’s annual use of 5,000 gallons of fuel oil and 870 gallons of liquefied propane.

Opponents called the project too costly and urged the town to seek other ways to reduce carbon emissions.

The article initially passed at Town Meeting, by a narrow vote of 849-801. But a petition afterward led to a revote in August, where the proposal was overturned, 1,041 votes to 608.

Arnold, an advocate for the ground-source heat pump, noted that the 2020 vote was during the novel coronavirus pandemic when residents were worried about the economy.

“It is not fair to say that geothermal was rejected by this town,” Arnold said at a meeting on Aug. 16. “What was rescinded in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, was the funding request.”

Two Selectboard members, Smith and Vincent, have advocated for installing a wood pellet boiler system, which they contend would be more affordable than ground-source heat and would significantly reduce Tracy Hall’s carbon output.

Smith said in an interview that a pellet system produces approximately 92% less carbon emissions than a fuel oil burner and that the pellets are sourced from waste products from lumber yards and forested sites.

Smith and Vincent also said they spoke with a contractor who said a pellet boiler could be installed at Tracy Hall this fall at an estimated cost of $200,000.

“We cannot be going into the winter with a possibility of not having heat,” Vincent said. “We can’t be doing that to our town employees.”

But other residents oppose wood-burning as a long-term solution.

Linda Gray, a member of the town Energy Committee, said she could only see a pellet boiler system being effective as a short-term replacement of fuel oil while the town seeks a permanent solution.

“The idea that the wood pellet system would be better in an environmental sense would be factually incorrect,” Gray told the Valley News.

Jeff Grout, energy coordinator of the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission, questioned the carbon reduction claims of wood pellets at the Aug. 16 meeting.

“It’s an efficient way to burn wood but it’s still combustion,” Grout said. “And when you burn wood you’re releasing carbon in the wood immediately, so right away you get a carbon emission that’s even higher than fossil fuels.”

New forest growth over time helps to offset the carbon emission produced from wood-sourced fuel, Grout said, though the regrowth of trees that will later produce new pellet fuel is a slow process.

The Selectboard rejected installing a pellet boiler system on Aug. 16, by a 3-2 vote. Calloway, Layton and Arnold voted against the motion while Smith and Vincent voted in favor.

Gray, a proponent of a geothermal solution for Tracy Hall, said she understands the board’s decision to seek a new energy assessment.

“My hope is that next year we will see a plan that gets voted on,” Gray said. “It’s not a bad thing to figure this out now and to work out these details for the long term.”

Duffy noted that the town will likely need its current system to operate for another couple of years, even if a decision on an upgrade is made. The oil boiler system could remain in place as a backup in that event.

“The other proposals are fairly time-intensive,” Duffy said.

“If you started today to say you wanted to have a new heating source of renewable energy only, it’s going to take a number of years probably to really get that fully implemented.”

Patrick Adrian can be reached at padrian@vnews or at 603.727-3216.