Farmington town officials say the town could build its own biomass boilers to heat two municipal buildings after learning that an alternative plan to hook into a planned biomass heating plant at the University of Maine at Farmington could violate the town zoning ordinance.

UMF is proposing to build an $11 million wood chip-fueled heating plant on Quebec Street. The school is awaiting approval of the project from the town Planning Board.

Town Manager Richard Davis said selectmen have tabled a proposal from UMF to contract with the university for use of the planned heating plant to provide heat to the Farmington Community Center.

Davis said the Planning Board received legal advice telling it that if the heating plant serves the town, it changes the nature of the building and could violate the village residential zoning rules because it would serve more than just an educational institution.

“If it branches out and starts serving other off-campus entities, then it would be a utility,” he said.

The selectmen asked Davis to research the costs and benefits of installing wood pellet boilers for the community center and town garage. He said other businesses and groups in town successfully made the conversion, including Mallett Elementary School on Middle Street.

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The Farmington Community Center uses about 6,750 gallons of heating oil annually.

If the town had decided to convert the Farmington Community Center building to use the UMF heating plant, it would have cost an estimated $90,000 to connect to the plant, but the cost would have been paid back in an estimated 7.6 years, climate control engineers working on the project said.

The 5,885-square-foot central heating plant is planned to be built on the site of a university parking lot near the intersection of Perkins and Quebec streets.

The Planning Board previously met with project developers and heard concerns from residents about whether the plant would harm the neighborhood. Issues that worried residents included the increased truck traffic required to maintain an adequate supply of wood.

The board is expected to meet again with developers on Monday and could vote on the project at the same meeting.

Kaitlin Schroeder — 861-9252

kschroeder@centralmaine.com


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