John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor Will Replace Heating System

After years of putting up with a malfunctioning geothermal heating and cooling system, the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor has decided to pull the plug on the whole operation.

The troublesome unit will be replaced with a new air-cooled heat pump that library director Kelly Harris described as “a more traditional HVAC system.”

The equipment won’t come cheaply, though. The library has received an estimate of $1.2 million for the project, Harris said.

The good news is the library has the money in a reserve fund, so it will not require a tax hike.

Harris said the geothermal system was No. 1 on her list of infrastructure projects to tackle when she joined the library more than two years ago.

The library’s geothermal system was installed during the major renovation that was completed in 2016, but, Harris said, “the system never worked quite right.”

The library has been treating “the symptoms” every time the system broke down and made sure the mechanics and controls were in good order, she said. The last step was to check the wells, which draw water to operate the system.

When contractors put cameras into the wells, it looked like something out of “Ghostbusters,” Harris said, with slimy biofilm clogging the system.

“It’s organic, it’s naturally occurring,” Harris said of the microbial slime. Why it thrived in the library’s geothermal system will likely remain a mystery.

All that matters is that when the system went on the blink, the library wasn’t heated or cooled properly.

Harris said she experienced a similar problem when she was the director of the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton, which also installed a geothermal unit that proved troublesome during its renovation two decades ago.

Geothermal units use the groundwater to provide heat in winter and cooling in summer. Modern heat pumps use air.

Harris said there were two basic options for placing the new system. It could go on the roof of the Union Street addition, which, she said, would make the library appear as though it had a third floor because of the need for sound attenuation panels.

The system also would crowd the roof, making it difficult for maintenance crews to service the unit, she said.

Instead, Harris said the library would like to place the heat pump unit along the Union Street side of its original building. Although the unit will be outside, she said it would be screened to hide it from view and reduce the noise it makes.

The library presented its proposal to the Sag Harbor Village Planning Board as a discussion item on March 26. Board member Ron Reed suggested that the unit be buried in a vault next to the building to reduce its impact. The library will bring a formal application to the board in the coming weeks.