PROSPECT — The Prospect Library closed on Monday so the boiler can be replaced.
Library Director John Wiehn said the work is expected to take a little over a week, though he hoped it would be done sooner. All programs planned by the library have been canceled while the boiler is replaced.
In addition, town organizations that use the library to hold their meetings will either have to find another place to meet or reschedule their meetings while the work is down, Wiehn said.
Wiehn said library staff noticed water leaking from the boiler on Jan. 30.
“Every time the furnace came on water would spray out of it,” Wiehn said.
The leak stemmed from a crack in the boiler, which was not repairable, Wiehn said. No library materials were damaged due to the leak, he said.
During the Town Council meeting Feb. 3, officials said the library closed for repairs, but a temporary patch on the boiler kept the library open through Saturday.
The boiler was installed in 1990 when the library was first open, Mayor Robert Chatfield said. The purchase and installation of the new boiler is expected to cost over $10,000, he said.
While the boiler is being replaced, the library will use a propane heating system to keep the building at 40 degrees so the pipes do not freeze, Chatfield said.
“It couldn’t come at worst time since it is so cold out,” Wiehn said.
