Waterford -- Democratic RTM members are circulating a petition to force a referendum on the newly approved Eversource contract to deliver natural gas to heat the police department and public safety building.

In an email on Sunday, Representative Town Meeting member Nick Gauthier, a Democrat, reported that he and other volunteers including RTM members Mary Childs, Kristen Gonzalez, Jennifer Kohl, Gregory Attanasio, and unaffiliated member Dan Radin, as well as Board of Finance Democratic member Baird Welch-Collins, had amassed 452 of the 709 signatures required.

The town charter allows 15 days after the approval of the contract for the signatures, comprising 5% of the town's registered voters, to be gathered. If successful, Gauthier's petition would force the town's first referendum in 20 years.

On April 4, the RTM approved the 15-year contract with Eversource by a 13-10 party line vote with Republicans voting to approve it. The contract stipulates that for the duration of the contract, no other fuel source can be used to heat the buildings, although it does not require a minimum use and allows for changes to make the building or equipment more efficient. At the close of the meeting Gauthier, signaled his intent to seek a referendum on the contract.

The current oil tanks at the two buildings are nearing the end of their life expectancy later this year at the police department and next year at the public safety building. This leaves the town with the option of replacing the tanks with new ones or switching to an alternate fuel source.

Opposition to the contract boils down to the length of the contract, the restrictions it places on the town, and what Gauthier and other opponents view as the unknowns contained within it. Gauthier argued last week that he felt the town was “looking at today rather than tomorrow,” and “looking at one cost, an already scheduled cost, today, but locking yourself into a highly volatile pricing scheme for 15 years.”

Gauthier would like to see the town stick with the initial plan of replacing the old oil tanks instead because it would not restrict the town's ability to change how it heats the buildings.

“Even if we replace the oil tanks today, and we said we want to go in a different direction, we can go in a different direction at any point,” adding “the town can feasibly look at alternate sources like heat pumps in the near future, rather than waiting 15 years to change heating methods in the two buildings."

Heat pumps were also brought up as an alternative during public comment at the April 4 meeting by three residents who also suggested the town look at the alternate method, already in use in some capacity in some municipal buildings.

Nonetheless, a referendum would only ask the voters to vote to refuse the Eversource contract, and the town would revert to its initial plan to replace the expiring tanks and install new ones to continue using oil to heat the two buildings. It would not immediately require the town to change to an alternative heating method.

Gauthier further critiqued the approved contract saying, “Boston Post Road will be ripped up by Eversource; proprietary pipeline will be installed by Eversource. There will be no price controls for 15 years. Eversource has not always been the best neighbor. They will have more direct control over direct decisions about our town buildings than we do as a town.”

He also added, “Ask anyone who has had Eversource dig up their road to run a gas pipeline and they'll tell you, as many have already told me, that their roads remain in a state of disrepair after such installations.”

Dan Radin, the only unaffiliated member of the RTM, said last week that all of the constituents he has spoken to want to get away from oil and natural gas, and that a 15-year contract would not allow the town to do that.

“The people's voice is not being represented,” he said, clarifying that “for me this isn't an environmental issue, this is a financial issue.”

Gauthier's said his bottom line is that “the costs to our taxpayers and our environment are far too great for far too long to rip up our infrastructure and lock ourselves into serving the profit interests of Eversource for the next 15 years.”

On Monday, RTM Republican Majority Leader Danielle Steward-Gelinas addressed the criticism saying “yes, it is a 15-year contract stating that we cannot use another heat source during that period, however contracts can be negotiated. If another option comes along, we can always revisit this decision.”

She pointed out that the Eversource lines are going down Boston Post Road already because they will tie into the Waterford Woods development under construction on Willetts Avenue, and the only question is whether the town ties in or not.

Steward-Gelinas also expressed her concern that “a referendum will cost the taxpayers more money, and we are volunteers who were elected to represent the best interest of the residents of Waterford.”

In a statement Monday, First Selectman Rob Brule said “Town of Waterford staff reviewed heating fuel source options for two Town buildings that provide critical, 24-hour services to our community. DEEP requirements to remove existing underground fuel tanks this year led to an assessment of the cost-effectiveness of switching to natural gas. Switching to gas is projected to save approximately $166,000 in upfront capital costs and eliminates the need to install above-ground heating oil tanks. The 15-year contract term secures a reliable fuel source to support emergency operations, while providing the Town with the necessary time to appropriately evaluate future energy needs.”