County approves ‘mini-split’ heat pump system for Peaks House

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer
    BOWERBANK — County employees in the Peaks House annex won’t have to put up with noisy window-mounted air conditioners in the summer and erratic heat in the wintertime for much longer. In addition, the electric bill in the annex will probably decrease noticeably.
    The Piscataquis County Commissioners unanimously agreed to purchase a mini-split heat pump system from Dave’s World at last week’s meeting, held at the Bowerbank fire station meeting hall. The money was already included in this year’s budget.

    Dave’s World Sales Manager Matthew Spooner made a short presentation on the equipment, explaining how a mini-split system works and the advances made in the technology in recent years.
    Basically, a heat pump takes cool air from the outside and brings it indoors during warm months and does “just the opposite in the winter time.”
    Spooner explained that even when it’s 85 degrees outside, there is still some cool air to tap; and warm air can be found even at below-zero weather.
    “You don’t have to turn (the system) off. It will ramp itself up to a certain level and stay there,” Spooner said. As a result, for every dollar spent to operate a mini-split system “you’re getting $2.33 worth of heat.” A standard oil furnace gets around 90 cents, Spooner said.
    The package includes four 9,000 BTU units and three 12,000 BTU mini-splits and Spooner said that installation would take approximately two days.
    Commissioner Fred Trask said he had some reservations about accepting the offer since it didn’t go out to bid.
    But County Manager Marilyn Tourtelotte said that — according to law — any purchase over $10,000 needs a written bid. The net cost of the Dave’s World package is $9,950, once a $7,000 Efficiency Maine rebate is deducted.
    Trask eventually made a motion to accept the bid and the contract was signed shortly afterwards.
    A more expensive measure was approved later in the meeting as commissioners agreed to sign a shared agency licensing agreement with Spillman Technologies in conjunction with Penobscot County for an improved dispatch system. The cost is $80,390; but as Tourtelotte pointed out, it would cost more than $300,000 if Piscataquis County had to do it alone.
    The licensing agreement would also allow the county’s four municipal police departments, fire departments, EMS and the jail communications module to link into the system.
    The current Piscataquis County dispatch system is considered outdated and has been maintained by Deputy Sgt. Tom Harvey, who has doubled as unofficial IT director for several years. However, Harvey retired as of July 19; so county officials have been looking for a cost-efficient way to upgrade their system.
    A meeting was scheduled on July 18 with Tourtelotte, Communications Director Dave Roberts and some Penobscot County officials to get additional details on the program.
    County commissioners also heard some concerns and complaints from Shirley residents about an ongoing problem with road maintenance on part of the Shirley-Blanchard Road.
    The commissioners said they were assured by town officials that the road would be maintained in a passable condition last fall, but the local residents said that the Board of Selectmen hasn’t kept its word.
    James Annis, chairman of the County Commissioners, suggested that a joint meeting with the Shirley town officials would shed more light on the problem. “I was under the assumption that this was being handled,” said Annis. “This was the first I’ve heard that it wasn’t.”
    Blanchard resident Paul Morris said that although areas with major washouts were repaired last fall “the rest of the road hasn’t been touched — potholes and all.”
    Morris said from a safety standpoint, a lot of people use the road as an alternate to Route 15 if the major artery is closed or blocked by an accident. “Sure, it’s passable — if you want to go five miles-per-hour.”