Members of Whitefield’s town property committee presented selectmen with project costs for a new town building center.
The board is preparing the 2009-10 budget with a first meeting slated tentatively for Tues., Jan. 27 and intends to include the project on the March town meeting warrant.
Erik Ekholm said Monday that the total cost including septic, a roadway, and building is about $750,000 but “we’ll be refining the numbers.”
The architect’s estimate for the building is $578,000, an amount that may actually be lower when figures are finalized, he added.
Among the unknowns are the length of the loop road and the size of the parking lot around the proposed new town office.
Ekholm and David Dixon, also a committee member, raised the idea of a public informational meeting to make the argument that now is a good time to embark on the building project. Interest rates are low and it’s a good time to lock in, they said.
Architectural designer Lynn Talacko will provide three color graphics for a display, showing the floor plan, site plan, and elevation view, Ekholm said.
Nomination papers for positions on the board of selectman, planning board and for road commissioner are due back at the town office on Wed., Feb. 4 by noon. Three seats are open on the planning board and one on the select board.