City water department staff asked the Community Preservation Committee on Jan. 8 for $450,000 to restore the Water Works complex's repair shed (site 12), an early-20th-century service building adjacent to the 1875 water tower.

Project manager Paul Furlan described the building as currently used for cold storage of equipment — mowers, message boards, seasonal materials and other operational items — and said the rubber roof is leaking in places, which is accelerating deterioration. The department's proposal covers a new roof, fascia work, window and door restoration and replacement of garage doors and targeted brick pointing where water infiltration has damaged the masonry.

Staff said Diamond (a vocational partner) and other vocational schools have been a partner on similar municipal work and might help with some exterior carpentry and window work to reduce costs, but roofing work would likely require outside contractors because of materials, heights and potential hazardous-materials precautions. Committee members suggested phasing the project to address the roof and weatherproofing first and then completing doors, windows and interior stabilization in later years.

Members asked for a clearer budget breakdown and suggested consulting the Historical Commission about door and window design to ensure treatments fit the historic context. Furlan said the department would provide a more detailed cost allocation by task and that the department prefers to phase the work so that the roof and associated water‑stopping measures proceed first.

No vote was taken at the hearing; the committee will consider the application during deliberations later in the month.