Your June 21, 2012 story on the feasibility of wood heat conversion in Haines merits some clarification as it relates to the reference in the story to the wood boiler project here in Craig.
Contrary to a statement in the story, the Craig project is an economic success. The wood boiler here allows us to heat the city’s pool facility and two adjacent school buildings at lower cost than if only propane and diesel are used. This is true even when one accounts for the cost of the chips, which are not provided free of charge.
The wood drying equipment referenced in the story will indeed provide drier chips to the city’s wood boiler facility than we currently receive. However, the cost of that equipment is only partially attributable to the Craig wood boiler project; the equipment will also dry wood from the sawmilling process for uses entirely unrelated to the city’s wood boiler.
Jon Bolling
Craig City Administrator