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Engineers find major rot and water damage at old town hall; town awarded energy grants for heat pumps
Summary
An engineering review identified nearly $100,000 in likely repairs for the old town hall; staff reported a Community Resilience Partnership grant (roughly $69,000) to fund heat pumps for municipal buildings and Efficiency Maine funds for unit installation, with work deadlines to be negotiated.
The selectboard heard a report from committee member Kim that an engineering evaluation by Chris Malott uncovered significant rot and water infiltration in the old town hall and other structures, with preliminary repair estimates approaching $100,000.
"We're looking at pretty close to $100,000 in just repairing damage from water infiltration and rot that is in the structure of the building itself," Kim said, describing newly identified problems that are worse than earlier estimates. Engineers also visited the Reich House and the fire station; the fire station required close structural review at the insurer's request.
Staff announced the town was awarded a Community Resilience Partnership/Community Action Grant for 2024–25 to support heat pumps and related energy-efficiency work; the amount reported in the meeting was about $69,000 (final award figures were not read in full on the record). Staff also noted an Efficiency Maine award of $11,200 for units and a $2,800 deduction off the grant amount for work on the town office, and that the Efficiency Maine-funded work must be completed by Nov. 30. The town plans an energy audit and a technical-assistance visit on May 16 to review building needs.
Kim cautioned that the town hall attic has little or no insulation, so heat-pump work should be phased (bathroom and kitchen closures suggested as early steps) and that the town may need outside historic-preservation and grant-writing assistance for a full restoration. The board agreed to prepare warrant-article drafts in time for the June deadlines and to continue engineering reviews.
Next steps include completing a written engineering report, finalizing warrant-article drafts for the early-June deadlines, and negotiating with Efficiency Maine over scheduling and scope to meet grant conditions.
