Andy Close
WARREN, Pa. – The issue of whether or not to allocate $500,000 of grant funding for a downtown geothermal system was discussed at Monday’s Warren City Council meeting.
The system, which provides heating and cooling to several downtown properties is the only geothermal system in the state that serves more than one building, per developer Robert Yoder.
Among the buildings it serves are the Allegheny Community Center, Erie Bank, TAWC as well as a number of apartments.
“The system could be much more efficient with upgrades on heating and cooling and with the upgrades, the system could be preserved for another 25 years.”
Yoder also noted that current occupants pay a minimal fee for heating and cooling.
“This will benefit all the people that are riding busses, our senior center, and tenants,” Yoder said. “These are the highest and most efficient tools on the market today.”
In addition to the geothermal system, the $500,000 proposal also includes a perpetual easement for the construction of a trail, as well as turning over the vacant townhouse concrete pad to the city.
“We’ve never had a RACP request in my time on council where other issues were involved,” said councilman John Wortman. “You have three separate things going on. We have to find out if this is something we are legally allowed to do.”
Council decided to schedule a special meeting to further discuss the issue.
Council also allocated $500,000 to itself for a new generator for the municipal building, as well as a diesel exhaust particulate extraction system for the fire department, window replacement for the fire department truck bay and a new fire alarm system for the municipal building.
