Gilbert makes plans to replace aging boiler

WINSTED — The Gilbert School is investigating how to fund a project to replace an aging boiler that heats the entire building.According to Gilbert Corporation Chairman Steven Sedlak, the combination oil and gas boiler was installed when the current Gilbert building opened in 1959.“It’s old and it needs to be replaced,” Sedlak said. “Over the last few years, it has been nursed along with a few minor repairs. We have all been keeping an eye on it for the past few years. You can only do so much to replace the old parts.”Superintendent Anthony Serio said the school is currently looking at replacing the boiler some time next year, right before the 2013-2014 school year starts.“There will be no disruption with heat in the school building because we will not be undertaking a project until the spring when this school year ends,” Serio said. “At this time we do not know how Gilbert will be financing this project. We are at the beginning stages and looking at the costs involved.”According to Sedlak, the project will cost more than $600,000.“Replacing the boiler itself will cost $545,000, but that does not include remediation for any asbestos they might find as well as the permits that might be necessary,” Sedlak said. “We do not have this money in the school’s operating budget. What we do have is an emergency fund that can partially be used for funding, but we are not so sure how we will go about funding the project.”Sedlak said there are no plans whatsoever to ask for public funding in order to finance the project.“It’s too soon to say right now how it will be financed, but we do have different options,” he said. “The boiler is living on borrowed time so it needs to be replaced as soon as possible. This is a big project and we all have high hopes that it will be finished by next year.”