FARMINGTON — Selectmen voted unanimously on Tuesday night, July 9, to proceed with the original plan of putting a new roof over the existing one at the Community Center.

Another option was presented at the June 25 meeting but a decision was tabled until two absent selectmen, Chair Joshua Bell and Byron Staples, could be present.

At that meeting, Thaddeus Gabryszewski of Lincoln/Haney Engineering in Brunswick and Wesley Jordan of Sheridan Construction in Fairfield shared information about a snow melt system that could be more economical. The snow is turned into water,  Gabryszewski said. This method is about half the projected cost of almost $1 million for the roof over plan, construction should take less time, he noted.

With the snow melt option a thin layer of plastic would sit on the roof with ballast keeping it from blowing off, Jordan stated. A boiler inside would melt the snow, could potentially heat other needs, he noted.

The boiler would use 3,200 gallons of propane annually, a cost of $16,000 per year, Selectman Dennis O’Neil said then.

The over roof option could reduce heating costs for the building, Matt Foster, director of Farmington Parks and Recreation, noted.

In the late 1990s, a structural analysis of the roof determined it didn’t meet modern snow load requirements, it was noted in 2021. A rubber membrane was installed to stop leaks, but nothing more was done due to the cost, the board was told then.

In July 2021 grant funds that could have been used to install an HVAC system to heat, cool and ventilate the Community Center had to be returned because the roof wouldn’t support the units. In February 2022 the board voted to use remaining ARPA funds for the roof.

In 2023 bids to restore the roof were rejected due to similarity in bids received and the almost $2.5 million cost. This February, Foster said a company, which he didn’t name then, estimated cost for a new roof at $1.7 million and about $900,000 for the roof over plan. The latter had not been approved by engineers, he noted. In March, the board approved using $20,000 from ARPA funds to determine the cost and scope of repairs.

“I think you guys pretty much touched on everything the other night,” Bell said Tuesday. He was told there were no updates on costs since the last meeting.

“The next direction we were going to take was meeting with the contractor, designer to move forward with design but then during the design for the $900,000 option they came up with this,” Foster noted. Sheridan found this other option, felt there was validity to it and wanted to know which plan to move forward with, he said.

Both options require different work from the two companies, Foster stated. “One requires a lot more from Thad and a lot less from Sheridan, the other requires more from Sheridan, less from Thad,” he said. A decision is needed before designing, getting costs narrowed down can be done, he noted.

Bell didn’t think the cost was worth it to melt snow.

“My biggest concern as far as urgency goes is the ARPA funding because I need to have a contract in place before Dec. 31 or we will have to pay that money back,” Town Manager Erica LaCroix said.

“That will hurt,” Selectman Richard Morton stated.

A mechanical engineering piece is also needed for the roof over option, those costs aren’t known, LaCroix said. She didn’t think the snow melt option was proven, there were a lot of unknowns. “I thought the boiler they were talking about would heat the building, not be two separate boilers,” she noted. “We are still going to need another boiler.”

Bell spoke of having the plan and numbers the next time Gabryszewski and Foster came to the board.

Gabryszewski and Jordan should be ready to move forward once a decision is known, Foster stated.