A portion of Hinesburg’s town hall has been off-limits to the public for nearly two years because of a leaking roof. The town Selectboard approved a contract for temporary repairs Wednesday evening that will allow the closed portion to re-open in approximately six months.
In late March, a Colchester architecture firm presented two options to the town for renovating and expanding the town hall. Both of the options would include a new roof. However, one of them would cost $3.4 million, while the other would cost $6 million.
The Town Manager’s office says a potential timeline for such a large renovation and expansion is still unclear. However, town officials didn’t want to wait that long for the large meeting room on the second floor to re-open. They asked for bids last month on temporary repairs.
Only one bid came in. Millbrook Building & Remodeling of Essex Junction submitted a bid of $340,000. The total will be $375,100 once the town adds construction management costs and a contingency to cover any unknown complications that might arise.
“(The repairs) would start on — I think we said — December 1 and with substantial completion by the middle of February,” assistant town manager Joy Dubin Grossman told the Selectboard Wednesday evening. “So, I would say we can probably use the room again by April 1.”
The Selectboard has unanimously approved that lone bid. Hinesburg will pay for the work with up to $400,000 of American Rescue Plan money. The funds would need to be returned to the federal government if they weren’t used.