Almost ready for use
Town Hall employees get a view of the ongoing building renovations at Fairbanks Memorial Hall
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

Town hall employees wander through the building and get to visualize the ongoing work in the building. The building has been closed for renovations since April 2007 and is set to reopen at the end of May.

The employees of Ashburnham's Town Hall got their first peek at the nearly completely renovated John Fairbanks Memorial Town Hall on Tuesday.

The group of about 15 employees and Town Hall Building Committee members were able to move room to room in the building, which is about 85 percent completed. Work on the approximately $2.2 million construction project started in the middle of May 2007, and is expected to be ready for the town office to move back at the end of May.

"I think it was positive (feedback) so that's a good thing," said David Sargent, the Building Committee chairman.

M. O'Connor Contracting, which was the low bidder on the contract, still has a number of projects left to do on the building before a punch list is developed, Sargent said. The town will not move back into the building until it is entirely completed, he said.

The former Board of Selectmen and Town Administrator office is now the future office of the town clerk and town's collector.

"I think it's going to dovetail with the town's schedule," Sargent said of the late- May move.

The town offices have been located in two classrooms at the back of Oakmont High School for the last year. The employees expressed their desire to move in to their new offices throughout the tour.

Most of the rooms have already been painted and the windows have been reinstalled on the first floor. Areas still remain where the counter space for customer usage is to be installed.

"It's going to be up to the town to assign the space," Sargent said.

Each department has an area of space, but the Building Committee will not determine the specific office assignments.

The land-use office will be located on a completely renovated basement level of the building. Also on the basement level is the vault, utility room and storage space.

The ground floor will have the financial and Town Clerk's offices, as well as a meeting room and the Town Administrator Office.

Finishing touches are needed in most of the rooms, including the future town administrator's office, which did not use to exist. The area in the front of the building used to be a closet.

The top floor of the building remains relatively undisturbed with only a new paint job, the addition of a small meeting room, and the new wiring and heating systems that flow through the entire building.

Sargent said the committee and the project are very close to their budget cap.

"We're definitely pretty close to maxed out," he said.

David Sargent, the chairman of the Town Hall Building Committee, talked with the employees and Selectman Jonathan Dennehy, about the progress of the work. The group got their first look at the renovations this week. JOURNAL PHOTOS/CAITLYN KELLEHER