The Board of Ashland Selectmen approved a deal on bringing federal stimulus of approximately $486 thousand to the town. The deal was signed to bond the cash, which will be used for energy saving upgradation on two buildings belonged to Ashland. Later the amount will be paid back with the stimulus bond.
A 20-kilowatt rooftop solar power system will be installed on the Department of Public works’ building located on Ponderosa Road. The cash will also be used to upgrade the pumps of a water treatment plant at Howe Street. The energy saving enhancements in the town buildings will help to save cost of up to $70 thousand to $75 thousand, Mark Purple, Assistant Town Manager said.
The initial plan was to install the solar panels at the Howe Street facility, but it demanded many trees in the area to be cut down. Also, the entire amount was originally planned to be spent on a 40-kilowatt solar system installation. However, the officials realized that replacement of old pumps with variable speed motor pumps would help to save more. The solar panel installation will be commenced in April, while the replacement of pumps will be started in few weeks.
Purple said that to get the stimulus cash, first the town has to apply for a loan, which will be forgiven later by the federal government. This new attempt is to skip the existing avenues that are interrupting during the process of towns receiving funds. Some of the existing methods are fraught with bureaucracy and are difficult, Purple noted.
Source: http://www.ashlandmass.com/
