Municipal officials say they’re trying to get the front steps of Town Hall fixed this year, though bids back to help with the work came in over budget.
Largely roped off since last year, the steps themselves have been shifting due to a problem with their foundation that’s also creating a drainage issue affecting a wall of the 1909 structure.
While the patio outside the Town Hall doors sits atop a slab of concrete, the stairs are built on compacted sand and stone dust, and as a result they keep shifting due to water pressure, officials have said.
Asked about the issue during the Sept. 6 Board of Selectmen meeting, Public Works Director Tiger Mann said, “We went out bid. We received a couple of bids back. They were a little over our budget so now we’re trying to talk to the low bidder and see exactly what we can do.”
In November, the selectmen approved a $2,500 contract to do “exploratory front entry work” there.
Mann said there’s an open question about how best to address drainage problems along the front of the building and under the steps “and how to maintain tolerances utilized in the existing materials we have.
“The existing materials we have are granite slabs laid on their sides, and they are not all uniform,” he said at the meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference. “But the steps have to be uniform, according to [Building] Code. So exactly how we address that concern, as well because we want to put back the existing slabs to keep the look the exact same. That’s all. So the price had come in a little higher than we anticipated so now we’re in negotiation with the contractor to learn how we can go forward.”
The selectmen asked Mann what’s in the budget for the work (not sure), whether the code requirements in question are related to ADA (no, Building Code) and whether the work is to be done this calendar year (that’s the goal).
“We should have something to you shortly,” Mann said, referring to a contract to work on the steps.