Lunenburg Select Board Tours TCP School, Finds Leaks, Asbestos, and Failing Boilers

Select Board · Meeting of August 11, 2026

Lunenburg Select Board tours the TCP school building and Brooks House, confronting a cascade of deferred-maintenance problems including failing boilers, roof leaks, asbestos, and lead. Facilities Director Chris Ruth walked the four present board members, Chair Renee Amke, McQuaid, Leighton, and McLeod, along with members of the Municipal Building Design Committee, through both properties Tuesday afternoon in a session framed explicitly as an observation with no deliberation or votes permitted. Ruth described the TCP building's sole operating boiler as having failed state inspection, its heating control system as a Windows XP-era relic that no longer communicates with thermostats, and its EPDM roof as shrinking and pulling away from all penetrations after being re-seamed in 2012.

A re-roofing estimate for the active portion of the building stands at approximately $750,000, not counting asbestos abatement or roof deck replacement, and Ruth warned that crossing the $500,000 threshold triggers ADA compliance upgrades that could cost more than the roof itself. Ann Nelson of the Lunenburg Food Pantry, which currently occupies the TCP cafeteria, told the board the pantry has no confirmed new home and is "running out of time."

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,674 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of August 11, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.