RSU 73 public hearing held on $880,230 bond to replace Spruce Mountain Primary boiler

RSU 73 opened a public hearing on Article 2 asking voters to authorize the district to issue bonds or notes not to exceed $880,230 to purchase and install a replacement boiler system at Spruce Mountain Primary School. Wayne, a district staff member who presented the proposal, described a plan for four new boilers in a rack system, two circulating pumps, a hot‑water holding tank, demolition of the existing chimney and all new repiping.

Wayne said the buildings and grounds committee reviewed options with Siemens and Dead River and that burying two fuel tanks — rather than leaving them above ground with two vaporizers — would cut the fuel‑storage cost from $61,875 to $13,100, a saving of $48,775. He also said switching from oil to propane would reduce fuel costs “roughly $20,000 a year.”

The presenter outlined consequences if the aging equipment failed. Wayne noted that temporary boilers used in 2023 had cost about $150,000 for a five‑month deployment and that emergency kerosene usage during cold spells had been approximately 100 gallons a day; at $5.80 per gallon he estimated roughly $580 a day, or about $87,000 over five months. “If we don’t have boilers, we don’t have children in our buildings,” Wayne said, urging consideration of the long‑term risk and operating costs.

A building and grounds committee member framed the proposal as necessary rather than discretionary: “This is definitely not a want. It’s a need,” the committee member said, citing the district’s experience with repeated component failures and constrained parts availability.

The board closed the hearing after questions. The referendum vote on Article 2 is scheduled for April 28, 2026; the hearing record will inform the ballot question voters will decide on that date.