LOUISVILLE - With temperatures expected to be bitterly cold for the next several days, officials in the town of Louisville can rest easy knowing their municipal building will be staying warm without breaking the bank for the town’s taxpayers.

This winter the town is heating its town offices, town court and the highway department’s garage with a wood pellet heating system that was paid for in large part by a grant from the River Valley Development Agency.

Town Councilman Daniel O’Keefe, who wrote the application, said the grant paid for $90,000 of the $110,000 project.

Last year, he said the town used more than 5,000 gallons of fuel oil, the equivalent of 42.4 tons of wood pellets.

“We’re going to see a $10,000 to $12,000 savings this year,” he said, explaining the project will pay for itself (the town’s portion) in just two years.

“It’s definitely a combination of having a more efficient heating system and a cheaper fuel source,” Mr. O’Keefe said, adding the town has a three-year contract with Curran Renewables, giving them a three-year price guarantee, something that Mr. O’Keefe said the town board is grateful for.

“He (Curran Renewables owner Patrick Curran) runs a great business here in Louisville and has always been great to the town,” Mr. O’Keefe said.

Mr. O’Keefe said work on the new system started last spring and was completed in September by Merkley Brothers Heating and Cooling LLC, Heuvelton.

“It’s working pretty good. It’s been running the whole season, and the oil boiler hasn’t kicked on yet,” he said, noting one oil boiler remains as a backup heating system.

“It heats up the room quickly and actually shuts off,” Mr. O’Keefe said.

That’s something the town’s previous heating system did not do.

“Previously the heat was just in the floors, but now we have two big fan-forced heaters in the truck bay,” he said. “When the garage doors opened in the past, all of the hot air would leave the building and then it took a while to heat back up again.”

Mr. O’Keefe also said he’s appreciative of the work done by Merkley Brothers, as well as the sacrifices made by the town’s highway crew.

“I think Merkley Brothers did a great job. They worked here for several months and even before this project they’ve worked here in this building before correcting some of the layout of the out old heating system,” he said. “We should also thank our highway crew. They sacrificed some space out there and also had their work space rearranged because of the new boilers.”

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