Shelburne committee maps renewable-energy upgrades for three historic town buildings

Town Manager Matt Lawless reviewed renovation needs and potential renewable-energy upgrades for three historic Shelburne town buildings — a 1926 school, the 1927 town hall and the 1800s Pearson Building — as the Climate & Energy Committee weighed costs, structural limits and funding options.

The committee’s discussion focused on options to reduce operating costs and future carbon emissions while managing high upfront costs and structural constraints. Matt Lawless said the buildings have persistent problems including leaky roofs and aging wiring and that the town is considering hybrid HVAC units, geothermal systems and rooftop or ground-mounted solar where structurally feasible. Consultant David Roy of Wiemann Lamphere outlined technical constraints for geothermal systems and noted that wastewater-heat recovery could enable a future district or shared system if the wastewater design includes connection stubs.

Why it matters: the committee is seeking projects that could provide long-term energy savings but must balance those savings against sizable initial investments, structural upgrades and operational needs—most notably ensuring continuous backup power for 911 dispatch, which currently requires retaining a diesel generator where battery storage is constrained by vendor and financial limits.

Key details from the meeting: - Scope: the three buildings under study are a 1926 school, a 1927 town hall and the Pearson Building (1800s). The committee asked the project team to treat the sites as a coordinated multi-building design project to be advanced this summer with costing in the fall and potential town meeting voter consideration in March. - Technical options: the team discussed hybrid heat-pump HVAC units (noting increased weight and need for structural review), ground and rooftop solar (roof structural limits may constrain rooftop arrays), potential battery storage and the future possibility of geothermal using wastewater heat recovery. - Funding and procurement: Rowland Davis highlighted the potential of Senate Bill 138 (C-PACE legislation) to enable municipal low-cost financing; the group also flagged Build America, Buy America (BABA) procurement requirements for federally funded portions of any project. - Wastewater linkage: the wastewater/pump station engineering study is at ~90% design; the committee instructed engineers to include pipe stubs and other provisions to allow later geothermal/district-energy connections.

Assigned next steps included targeted feasibility work: evaluate air-sealing and insulation options (including AeroSeal), obtain updated solar contractor bids that include battery-storage options, coordinate structural-engineering reviews for heavier HVAC equipment, and consult geotechnical engineers about optimal geothermal-well placement. The group also asked staff to prepare a menu of sustainability options and costs to inform fall discussions and town-meeting preparation.

Committee members noted grant opportunities (examples cited: Vermont Gas and Efficiency Vermont) that could offset some upgrades and recommended durability-focused choices such as fiberglass windows and mineral-fiber insulation.

The committee did not take formal votes on adopting a specific technology at this meeting. The wastewater project’s first contract has been awarded and a meeting is scheduled next week to finalize stub locations for future geothermal connections. The design-phase work will continue through the summer with costing to follow and a potential voter decision next March.