WARWICK — It has been confirmed by the Selectboard chairman that a grant awarded Warwick to make improvements to that building will still be available, even if the use of the elementary school building changes.
Earlier this month, Warwick and Northfield were awarded grants from the state Department of Energy Resources to be used on renovations to Pioneer Valley Regional School, Warwick Community School and Northfield Elementary School.
The grants were part of the Department of Energy Resources’ Green Communities program, and were awarded to fund towns’ projects to improve energy efficiency or transition to renewable energy sources. Warwick was granted about $226,000.
Warwick and Northfield applied for the grants together. They were the only towns to do so of the 80 that received grants. O’Connor said the Department of Energy Resources would likely take Warwick’s and Northfield’s work as a model for how other regional school districts could coordinate similar projects.
Because the possibility of closing Warwick’s school continues to be discussed due to the Pioneer Valley Regional School District’s ongoing financial issues, there was initially some concern among Warwick’s Selectboard and Buildings and Energy Committee over whether a school closure would make the town liable for the grant money.
Selectboard Chairman Doc Pruyne confirmed in a phone call with a Department of Energy Resources representative that if the school were closed, the town would still be entitled to the grant money, as long as the building was still in use. Pruyne has said the building could be used as senior housing or office space for town employees if the school closes.
The renovation projects for which the two towns received their grants are mainly upgrades to electrical systems, heating and cooling systems and insulation at the three schools.
The projects will be broken into smaller sub-projects, said Warwick Buildings and Energy Committee Chairwoman Janice Kurkoski, and the smaller sub-projects will be completed one at a time.
Work on the schools can be done only when school is not in session, so it must be done in August, before school starts Aug. 27, and during school vacations throughout the year, officials said.
The projects must be completed by May 2019 per the grant’s terms. In the event the work is not finished by then, the town will return the money it hasn’t spent, then perhaps apply for it again next year. The Northfield Energy Committee and the Warwick Buildings and Energy Committee have not yet contracted anyone to do the work.