Jay selectpersons approved a change order Monday that includes partial demolition of the North Jay Wastewater Treatment Facility’s package treatment unit. It is to include removal of the wall panel to install a garage door to possibly make it a sludge-composting facility. Donna M. Perry/Sun Journal

JAY — The town has entered into the demolition process of the sewer conversion project.

Sewage started being sent July 29 from North Jay residences and business to the Livermore Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Selectmen voted 4-1 on Monday to approve a change order for $65,515 for partial demolition of the North Jay Wastewater Treatment Facility, full demolition of another building and other aspects of the project.

The town had a new pump station and force-main system installed to connect the North Jay sewer system to the gravity sewer collection system near Jay Plaza in Jay Village. All of Jay’s sewage that typically would be treated now is being done in Livermore Falls.

Jay voters approved the project in September 2018 with the end result of abandoning the North Jay plant because it is expected to be more cost efficient than continuing to upgrade the facility. The project is still under budget, according to Sewer Superintendent Mark Holt.

Of the $65,515 change order, $55,130 is for partial demolition of the package treatment unit, which includes removing the panel where the door is located and a wall panel to the right of it so that a garage door can be installed in a subsequent step. The walls are 16 inches thick and full of rebar, Holt told selectmen.

Five or six interior walls will also be cut out.

There is a good possibility that the remainder of the unit could become a compost facility for sludge from the Livermore Falls plant, Holt said. The University of Maine in Orono has shown interest in such a project. Holt has asked a representative if a feasibility study, cost estimated and preliminary design could be done, he said.

Other parts of the change order include removal for an 8-foot by 8-foot chlorination building, ductwork modification in the chemical room, and add vents to two manholes.

Selectperson Judy Diaz opposed the change order while Selectpersons Gary McGrane, Tom Goding, Vice Chairman Tim DeMillo and Chairman Terry Bergeron supported it.