The Astoria Aquatic Center’s failing ten-year old boiler will be replaced by two more energy efficient condensing boilers. The city council Monday approves the nearly $48,000 purchase and also authorizes staff to seek bids for the boilers’ installation and other upgrades at the center. The new boilers will save the city $12,000-$13,000 per year in energy costs. On demand gas water heaters for shower facilities and adjustments to air circulation are also planned. Those upgrades may total $150,000. An Oregon Energy Trust rebate of $14,000 is expected. And the Oregon Department of Energy may provide up to a $37,000 energy tax credit. The cost of natural gas is expected to double over the next year, according to Benoit.
Resident Don Webb says a boiler should last at least twenty years. He says failure is primarily caused by a pumping system. City manager Paul Benoit says the consultant recommends that the existing piping system not be replaced.
Mayor Willis Van Dusen says Webb raises a good point and asks that staff make sure that existing systems don’t tire out the new boilers prematurely. The city’s Astor-East Urban Renewal District will eventually pay for the upgrades.
