SUNDERLAND — With Sunderland Elementary School’s oil tank nearing the end of its lifespan, the Select Board will use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money to prepare for its replacement.

The tank is approaching 30 years old and while it is functioning properly, the town appropriated $195,000 of ARPA money last week to get ahead of the expected 60-week wait time for a new oil tank.

Principal Ben Barshefsky said the school wants to be proactive about replacing the tank so it can avoid any emergency situations when it comes to heating the building. He added that Sunderland Elementary and the Union 38 and Frontier Regional school districts want to reduce their use of fossil fuels in the future, but implementing green infrastructure is a long-term process and a new oil tank will ensure the school can operate while those plans take shape.

“It’s reaching the end of its life,” Barshefsky said. “This is one of those proactive measures, and many of these schools are not set up in a way to undergo a complete change of the heating system and move away from fossil fuels.”

Town Administrator Geoff Kravitz said the school will need some work before green infrastructure can be effectively installed and the oil tank will hold them over for the foreseeable future.

“Everybody agreed we wanted to move toward more renewables,” Kravitz said. “It’s unfortunate, I think, that  we have to [get an oil tank in the short term], but we can’t have a school without heat either, and we don’t want an oil spill in our school.”

The school has been eyeing a new oil tank for a few years, beginning with a Tighe & Bond study in fiscal 2022. ARPA money provided an immediate opportunity to order the tank because a capital request would have to go through Town Meeting, meaning the school may miss an opportunity to install the oil tank in the summer of 2024, which would be an ideal time as it wouldn’t disrupt classroom activities.

“If we want to install it in summer of 2024, we need to order it now,” Kravitz explained. “That was the reason it was ARPA funds and not a capital request.”

With the appropriation, Sunderland has $245,794 of unallocated ARPA funds remaining, which must be obligated by the end of 2024 and spent by 2026, according to the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.]]>