Window Replacement Will Ease Energy Costs in Westbrook, Connecticut

WESTBROOK - A two-step program to replace windows in the John Riggio Municipal Building has recently been approved by the Board of Selectmen.

Loren Baker, Facilities Manager for the Riggio Building and the Mulvey Municipal Center, said he expects the project will cut 25 percent off the cost of energy for the Riggio Building.

Baker proposes that 10 windows be replaced before July 1 while the other 10 windows should be replaced soon after.

Today, heat escapes out of the building during the winter due to the old wooden panes which are decaying with age and the caulking in those windows is slowly falling out.

Baker talked with his friend, Robert Sicuranza, who worked many years for the Eagle Window Company, a company specializing in replacing specialized and custom-made windows.

Sicuranza recommended that insulated glass windows, in a similar design to the current windows, be installed.

"New buildings don't need custom windows because someone makes the opening for the window," Sicuranza said.

Baker said he has seen these windows installed on numerous buildings including the Old Lyme Firehouse, a building in Essex Center, and a building in Branford.

To determine the look of the new windows on the building, sample windows were installed and Baker said that "in some cases you couldn't tell which windows were replaced."

For the 20 windows, Baker said the estimated price tag would be $19,110 with a built-in $690 contingency creating a final price of $19,800.

The contingency would pay for rotten sills or rotten framing that might be discovered as the old windows are removed.

Sicuranza characterized the existing windows as being in "poor shape" and Baker added that these windows "have no real value" since they only date back to 1950.

The proposal now goes to the Board of Finance for approval.

The Riggio Building, the former town hall at 1163 Boston Post Road, currently houses several agencies including Westbrook Youth and Family Services, Domestic Violence/Valley Shore, and the town's emergency management office.