China municipal building committee to make presentation to select board

by Mary Grow

Three members of China’s Municipal Building Committee met June 9, for the first time since January, and agreed they need to make a presentation and two requests at the June 21 select board meeting.

After reporting to select board members on their plan for additional storage space at the town office on Lakeview Drive, they need to ask for funds to hire an engineer or similar consultant to refine the plan and add an up-to-date cost estimate. And they need to ask for appointment of additional committee members.

Committee chairman Sheldon Goodine shared his not-to-scale plan for a building to be connected to the east side of the present building. His proposed building is 34 feet wide; committee member Scott Pierz recommended 36 feet long as adequate to store town records for a reasonable time into the future.

Goodine reported soil consultant Jack Lord had located the town office septic tank and leach field, to make sure the new building will not affect their functioning. Goodine had talked with town office staff and adjusted proposed interior details to meet their needs and preferences.

He plans next to ask someone from Dig Safe to check the proposed site, he said.

Committee members talked about windows (not many) and doors (at least two); how the roof of the new building would meet the existing roof; the electrical connection; putting the building on a slab with in-floor heating; and providing work space, so staff members would not have to haul documents from storage back to the main office to use them.

Pierz reminded the others that the building must comply with state and local building codes, China’s Phosphorus Control Ordinance, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and probably other regulations and requirements.

He and audience member Ed Bailey urged Goodine not to stress details of interior arrangements with select board members, but to focus on the overall plan and projected costs. There was agreement that a January cost estimate is no longer valid.

Goodine commented that the existing town office building needs repairs. The adjacent former portable classroom, used for voting, committee meetings, weekly senior citizens’ gatherings and other purposes, is close to the end of its useful life, in his estimation.

Bailey is interested in serving on the Municipal Building Committee. After the meeting, committee member and town clerk Angela Nelson said Dennis Simmons has also volunteered.