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MADISON

After delay of funds, energy projects under way

By Erin Rhoda erhoda@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

MADISON -- Joshua Tucci, 22, of Anson, was out of work for six months this year due to a lack of construction jobs and unfavorable weather.

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ROOF WORK: Jason Cole, left, 32, of Anson, Jonathan Rainville, 30, of Anson, and Joshua Tucci, 22, of Anson, add the top steel layer of Madison's highway garage roof this week.

Staff photo by Erin Rhoda

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For the past few weeks, however, he has been earning a living in part from federal stimulus funds as he works on a job, won by his employer, RTD Roofing, to make the town's highway garage roof more efficient.

"Work has been a little thin, and it was a good opportunity for us, and we're glad to have the work," said Michael Edgerly, roofing division manager at RTD Roofing.

The town is paying for the project and two other energy-related projects -- at a cost of $85,000 -- with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. The grant is part of $6 million promised to more than 120 Maine municipalities under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Economic Development Director Joy Hikel said she's relieved work has started. Many town officials had expressed frustration at a two-month delay in receiving the funds, saying the holdup defeated the purpose of stimulating the economy.

But the funds are being released now. And they came with an apology from Michael Stoddard, the new director of Efficiency Maine Trust, the agency responsible for funneling down the funds.

"The delay you have experienced is well beyond what is reasonable," he wrote in a letter to Hikel dated July 22. "I take full responsibility for the situation and want to express my deepest regrets and assurances that this is not the level of customer service you should expect from the trust now or in the future. It must change, and it will change immediately."

The delay happened because the agency, at the time called Efficiency Maine, separated July 1 from the Maine Public Utilities Commission, as mandated by legislation. It took time to transfer money from the PUC to the newly created Efficiency Maine Trust, and all contracts needed to be reviewed by private legal counsel.

"I'm really happy that the powers-to-be moved quickly and that we're getting the work done before heating season," Hikel said. Construction began the first week of August, and the roof work was anticipated to wrap-up today.

Edgerly said workers added 8 inches of fiberglass insulation to the 9,000-square-foot highway garage roof to keep heat in and the cold out. The improvements are estimated to save the town 660 gallons of heating oil a year.

In addition to the highway garage project, two other energy-related projects will begin shortly: the conversion of street lights downtown and the installation of stop signs lit by solar power at a dangerous intersection.

The highway department will install the special stop signs, purchased from Solar Traffic Systems based in Illinois, at the intersection of Ward Hill Road and Old County Road. There have been several serious traffic accidents there in recent years.

Madison Electric Works will replace 38 street lights on Main Street with light-emitting diodes, which is estimated to cut the town's electric bill for those lights by more than half.

Erin Rhoda -- 474-9534

erhoda@centralmaine.com