FARMINGTON — The Select Board again discussed the ongoing Community Center project this week, with some members expressing frustration as they approved additional change orders and awaited more information about the latest renovation change.
The town voted in 1940 to build a gymnasium on Middle Street, on the former site of its first high school. The Community Center opened two years later and hosted its first basketball tournament.
Since then, it has served as the town’s de facto gathering place, with elections, town meetings, local sports and charity events regularly held there.
By the late 1990s, a structural analysis of the Community Center roof found it did not meet modern requirements for the snow load. Instead of pursuing a full structural renovation, the town chose to address developing leaks with a rubber membrane.
The issue resurfaced in 2020, when the town was forced to return nearly $80,000 in grant funding earmarked to support elections.
The town had planned to use the money to add seven heating, ventilation and air conditioning, or HVAC, units to the building’s roof, but could not proceed because of the roof’s condition.
The town began working with Lincoln/Haney Engineering Associates of Brunswick — now owned by Sebago Technics Inc. — in 2023. The project to restore the roof went out to bid twice that year, and only two companies ultimately submitted proposals of about $2.5 million. The high cost and similarity of the bids led the Select Board to reject both.
The Select Board chose to negotiate directly with Sheridan Construction Corp. of Fairfield, a company that had not submitted a bid but had expressed early interest and was already working on other projects in the Farmington area.
Rather than renovate or replace the existing roof, the plan called for building a new roof on top of the old one.
At the March 2025 town meeting, voters approved borrowing up to $800,000 to be used with $700,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to complete the project.
A special town meeting was held in June because the treasurer’s statement had not accompanied the article in March.
The 10‑year loan would generate more than $200,000 in interest, bringing the total cost to more than $1 million.
The Community Center closed June 2. It was expected to reopen for the November election.
The delay was chiefly due to the discovery of steel beams within the masonry construction, Lincoln/Haney and Sheridan representatives said at last month’s meeting. Although the steel offered advantages, planners said they needed more time to redesign how the new roof would attach to the building.
As a result, Farmington held its election at a former Family Dollar store.
At last month’s meeting, the Select Board approved $83,000 in change orders tied to the discovery of steel beams and other adjustments, including the installation of security cameras. At that point, the project was estimated to be about 12 percent over budget.
On Tuesday, the board approved three additional change orders: $1,504 to install a circuit breaker and wiring for security cameras; $4,780 for three wall‑mounted heaters for the center’s bathrooms; and $1,187 to replace a railing.
The change order that replaced the center railing on the facility’s front steps with a wider version that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act seemed to particularly gall the board.
“I agree we should pay to have it corrected,” Select Board Vice Chairman Richard Morton said. “I’m just kind of irritated that the people who were the professionals didn’t pick it up.”
The board members’ moods did not seem to improve when they reviewed ongoing discussions about the installation of supports currently being designed by Sebago Technics.
The project’s engineer believes that additional bracing is required for the existing columns to prevent them from buckling under the load the design must bear.
The steel bracing will tie the existing columns back to the building to ensure they will not buckle under a heavy snow load. Four columns — two at the stage and two at the bleacher sections — will require reinforcement. Another four columns near the gym floor might also need bracing.
Thanks to the improvements that Sheridan has already installed, the roof’s capacity has increased from an estimated 40 pounds per square foot to 70 psf. According to engineer Thad Gabryszewski in an email to town officials, the braces will bring the roof to its code‑required strength of 83 psf.
“The braces will bring the structure to its needed capacity,” Gabryszewski said in his email. “Until the braces are installed, deep/heavy snow should either be removed from the roof, or, the facility should not be occupied when deep/heavy snow is on the roof.”
The bracing could be installed as the building opens next month, according to Sheridan.
“I don’t know if we have a heck of a lot of choice,” Select Board member Scott Landry said of the bracing plan.
“This is, what, three years we’ve been dealing with this?” board Chairman Matthew Smith said. “Pretty sick of it.”
The design work is still underway, and a cost estimate was not included in the email.
“There’s a fair number of unknowns that are in this email that we need more information on,” Morton said.
The Select Board voted to get a quote for the bracing work and then discuss the matter further. The vote was 4‑1, with board member Dennis O’Neil opposed. Jennifer Savage, director of the Parks & Recreation Department, said the goal is to occupy the building on or before March 1. A town meeting is expected to be held on March 23 to set a six‑month budget, but the warrant — and, therefore, the location — has yet to be approved.
“Just pray for light snow instead of heavy snow,” Landry said.
“Just pray for this project to be over,” Smith replied.
In a related matter, Town Manager Erica LaCroix informed the Select Board that the first bond bank payment would be due in May, not November, as previously thought. The payment is only for half of the interest due in 2026, not the principal.
It would represent a $15,707 expense not included in the six‑month budget, LaCroix said, estimating that increase represented a 2‑cent increase to the estimated property tax rate, or $6 on the average tax bill.
LaCroix said she will check in with the Budget Committee to see if it wants to discuss the increase and issue a recommendation.
The committee has already recommended a roughly $45,000 reduction to the proposed budget, removing funds for two months of a detective position and three months of a patrol position.
Those positions at the Farmington Police Department are now vacant.
