Dunstable Select Board Approves $235,525 Library Heat Pump Contract with Conditional Funding

DUNSTABLE — March 25, 2026 — Dunstable Select Board approves two-part library heat pump contract totaling $235,525, funded through a combination of a state earmark, net metering credits, and a pending town meeting vote. The board voted unanimously Wednesday to authorize contracts with Energy Source for the Dunstable Public Library — a $193,161 first contract contingent on National Grid on-bill repayment approval, and a $42,364 second contract that cannot be signed before May 11, 2026, and depends on passage of a $45,000 capital appropriation at the 2026 Annual Town Meeting. The town administrator, who assembled the funding package over several months, noted the project draws on roughly $97,000 in net metering credits accumulated under a solar agreement entered about six years ago. The board also unanimously approved switching the town's employee life insurance carrier from Boston Mutual to Mutual of Omaha, raising the benefit from $2,000 to $10,000 at a total added cost to the town of $480 annually, and voted to approve a cost allocation policy allowing enterprise and revolving funds to offset general fund administrative expenses, a mechanism the administrator said will help balance the FY27 budget.