Natural Gas Proposition Added to School Ballot in May

Come this May, residents of Three Village will be asked not only to vote on the school budget and school board trustees, but they will also be asked to vote on a proposition that would fund a district-wide conversion to natural gas.

The school board on Tuesday voted to put that proposal on the ballot as a separately funded capital project that would cost $780,000. It would fund the necessary equipment, installation, facility upgrades and boiler room modifications needed to make the switch from oil heat to a natural gas system.

In January, the school's architect, John Grillo, on what a district-wide conversion to natural gas heat would mean.

According to Grillo's report, the Three Village school district spent more than $874,000 in oil consumption during the 2010-11 school year. The estimated cost of natural gas consumption would amount to $420,444, yielding a savings of $453,717 if the district switched to natural gas via National Grid.

At that time, Jeff Carlson, assistant superintendent for business services, said the state would likely reimburse 66 percent of the project under provisions that fund capital improvements in school districts.

Grillo said the district would recover its investment in less than a year and the ultimate cost would be around $1.11 per household.

Voter approval would be necessary before the district can seek bids on the project. "It's a long process," Carlson said in an interview Friday.