Region One consortium aims to counter rising costs of fuel oil

CORNWALL — Cornwall has joined the Region One fuel oil consortium, locking in for heating oil and diesel fuel at $3.52.9 and $3.74.9 for the next year. The Board of Selectmen voted at an Aug. 19 meeting to join the consortium for one year. School boards and towns are required to make the decision annually.

If those prices sound shocking, First Selectman Gordon Ridgway said it’s less than the town is paying now, and about 10 percent less than other suppliers are offering for various prepaid or volume buying plans. Still, it’s a tough pill to swallow after the last fiscal year and a lock-in price of $2.05 for heating oil.

Cornwall joins the North Canaan, Falls Village and Region One school boards, and the town of Kent in what is actually a much larger buying co-operative.

According to Region One School District Business Manager Sam Herrick, 40 school districts and 20 towns are buying $5.8 million gallons of heating oil annually through this particular consortium. Twenty-four school districts and 18 towns are opting in to buy $2.1 million of diesel and 530,000 gallons of gasoline at reduced prices.

It’s been a difficult year for decision making by governing boards, and it wasn’t until Aug. 14 that Herrick’s office received word of a final lock-in price. Still, there is hesitancy — a fear of commitment to outrageous prices that many feel have to drop. The recent downward trend in crude oil prices has fueled that belief.

But Herrick noted that when consortium members were paying $2.05 for fuel oil last year, homeowners were coughing up $3.45 a gallon to heat their homes.

"The Torrington school district locked in a couple of weeks ago, at $4.24 a gallon, so we’re confident our numbers will hold as a good deal," Herrick said.

When the consortium started in 1998, the lock-in was 62 cents. It hit a low of 50.95 in 2000, when the average residential price was $1.52. From there, it has been uphill for everyone. The highest it has been prior for the consortium is $2.27 in 2007.

Of course, the other side of the story is cutting back on heating needs and finding alternative methods. Two ideas for Cornwall that are in the planning stages are insulated window coverings at Town Hall, where tall, historic casement windows are far from energy-efficient.

At the town garage, a waste oil furnace, as an auxiliary to the main furnace, may prove to be an avenue that will quickly pay for itself. While it needs its own storage tank and chimney, "At $3.50 a gallon for oil, even if it costs several thousand dollars it would be worth it," Ridgway said.

The highway department discards about 1,000 gallons of oil per year. Waste oil brought to the transfer station could amount to another 1,000 gallons. That translates to about $7,000 worth of fuel oil.

Another option is a wood burner that takes fresh wood. The town does most of its own tree-trimming and cutting, and would likely create its own, ample supply.