The school board has hired a consultant to help with plans to bring natural gas to the high school.
The Board of Education unanimously approved hiring SourceOne, a Boston-based energy consulting firm, to help the district with its plan of running a gas line from Danbury down Ridgebury Road to the campus.
The terms of the contract estimate the cost to be $15,600 for the school district.
“SourceOne can help us move forward with this,” said Joe Morits, the district’s facilities manager, to the board Monday night. “They can get a better number for us through various grants and savings, and they can begin to negotiate the installation prices that we can’t do ourselves.”
He added that the contract with SourceOne will help the district better understand the feasibility of the project and what is needed to make the three-mile gas line a reality.
Mr. Morits has been discussing the district’s energy requirements with SourceOne, specifically at the high school and Scotts Ridge Middle School, since February and said the firm is familiar with the project.
SourceOne is expected to make equipment configuration recommendations, provide cost estimates and assume the lead role in negotiating with Yankee Gas, per the contract.
Contract negotiations with Yankee Gas are expected to begin March 27 and last a couple of weeks, the contract said.
“This is a great idea; it should really help us get going,” said board member Richard Steinhart. “We need to start pushing this thing through if it’s ever going to be accomplished.”
The board first heard the proposal back in December, when board member John Palermo brought it forward for discussion.
He estimated that it would cost $500,000 per mile to install the line to the high school’s campus.
At that meeting, Mr. Morits estimated that the project would cost around $3 million.
It is a part of the board’s five-year capital improvement plan.
A town report from SourceOne is expected to be delivered between April 24 and April 30, per the contract.