County officials approved spending up to $50,000 to get a new boiler installed in the Dukes County Courthouse at an emergency meeting Tuesday night of the Dukes County Commission and the County Advisory Board.
The decision comes a day after the Edgartown courthouse was closed for court business because the building’s boiler was found “cracked and leaking” on Saturday, county commission chair Christine Todd told The Times.
“Contractors are telling me it’s beyond repair, needs to be replaced,” Martina Thornton, the county administrator, told the commission and advisory board. She said the state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance has authorized the county to award a contract for the project without going through the typical bid process. She has sought three bids, but thus far has heard from only one contractor, who says the job could be done by the middle of next week.
The state will reimburse 87 percent of the project’s cost, Thornton said. The other 13 percent could come from the Registry of Deeds, and Paulo DeOliveira, the register of deeds, said during the meeting he’s open to discussing that with Thornton.
The emergency funds will come from the county’s capital improvement fund, and it will likely be next year before the money is reimbursed from the state, though Thornton said she’s already requested they pay it back sooner.
While there was some discussion about switching to a more efficient, green energy source for the courthouse to meet the Island’s energy goals, ultimately the two boards voted unanimously to support the project.
“The court system has struggled to be open during this pandemic, and it’s a trend that’s continuing. There’s a lot of business that needs to be done, and it can’t remain closed,” Oak Bluffs selectman Brian Packish, that board’s representative to the advisory board, said. “So I think that we have to look at this option that Martina is presenting, take action, move it forward and continue the conversation, and continue to be mindful of taking the steps that are environmentally responsible. But in the short term, I think the responsible thing to do is to move Martina’s proposal forward.”
While Thornton asked for $45,000 — the first estimate being $40,000 for the boiler and $5,000 for contingencies — Skipper Manter, West Tisbury advisory board member and typically a conservative voice when it comes to finances, suggested making it $50,000.
“There’s too many things that go wrong in dealing with an antique building like this,” he said.
Kate Warner of the Island Climate Action Network suggested adding more mini-splits (self-contained electric heating and air conditioning systems) to the building, rather than the oil-fired boiler, but the consensus of the boards was that there just wasn’t enough time, given the emergency. Warner noted that the situation with the courthouse is something that Island leaders should consider for their own buildings.
“The question is for everybody to come up with a master plan: Here’s our building stock, how are we going to improve these buildings so that then we can heat them efficiently, and what’s our plan for turning them over?” Warner said.
Commissioner Tristan Israel said while he understood the emergency, he wondered if they might be able to hit the pause button long enough to consider green alternatives. “We’re going to be putting a boiler in for the next 30 or 40 years,” he said. “A few days would buy us a chance to look at some of these other solutions; it may be worth it in the long run.”
“We have a situation that’s calling for an immediate fix,” Todd said.
While purchasing the oil-fired burner seems like a waste with the Island headed toward electric sources of heating and cooling, Martha’s Vineyard commissioner Ben Robinson pointed out that the boiler could eventually be a backup to a more energy-efficient system. He said one thing that can be done now is to go for the most efficient oil-fird boiler available.
While Israel wasn’t convinced the commissioners had given the OK to proceed with the oil-fired boiler and that they only authorized the dollar amount, other commissioners appeared content that their intent was clear.
Court is adjourned
The county building, which, save for the Registry of Deeds portion, is leased to the commonwealth, houses the Dukes County Superior Court, the Edgartown District Court, and the Dukes County Probate and Family Court.
All of them remain closed while the county works on a solution.
No pipes froze, Thornton said, as steps were taken to insulate crawl spaces and exposed piping. Also, she noted, mini-splits, which have no connection to the boiler, remain operational in various places in the courthouse. Thornton said she was at the courthouse twice over the weekend to evaluate and monitor the situation.
“I was there Saturday afternoon after I got a call from the janitor,” she said. On Sunday, she said, she spent time in the courthouse with a contractor. Thornton said the boiler represents the last part of the heating system to be upgraded. She noted new pipes, radiator valves, and circulator pumps have already been installed in the courthouse.
Heating problems have plagued the courthouse in the past, and funding such repairs has proved a fiscal hurdle for the county.
Edgartown District Court Clerk Magistrate Liza Williamson said emergency services like restraining orders remain available.
“I want to be sure our community knows that despite the physical closure of the courthouse, there are still resources available to help them and keep them safe,” she emailed. “Access to filing restraining orders is available 24/7 through on-call judges. These can now be sought through the local police departments 24/7. Interpreters for all languages are also available.
Any criminal or civil matter scheduled this week will be rescheduled. Please contact your attorney or the court, upon reopening, for the new date. We are hoping this unfortunate issue will be resolved as quickly as possible.”