HARRISON – One missing electrical part caused quite the delay in remodeling the new town office.

Selectman Shelia A. Smith said town officials called the electrician. He in turn, called the supplier. Then, the supplier called the wholesaler and the wholesaler called the manufacturer.

“We did this every day,” Smith said.

The town office is moving into the Maxfield Commons building on Route 35, just south of the current office. The town bought the building for $395,000 and will spend about $100,000 to refurbish it.

The electrical piece had been missing since mid-May, Smith said, and officials had been getting frustrated by the lack of progress on the building.

But on Wednesday, work was progressing and Smith seemed relaxed, confident that completion was near.

She said the office staff, excluding Town Manager Michael Thorne, had been cleaning out the vault and getting things organized for the move.

If everything goes right, the Public Works crews could be moving furniture into the new building on Monday.

“We’re really excited about this,” Smith said.

The missing electrical piece came in two weeks ago and workers have been shifting their schedules to squeeze in the work on the town office, that had been holding due to a series of cancellations.

On Wednesday, the installation of the burglar and fire alarm system was underway. The walls and floors were barren.

“The lack of the electrical piece held up the Sheetrock work and then the carpentry and all the other electrical work and of course the painter and the rug installation,” Smith said. “The only ones not bothered were the mason contractors and the plumber.

“The rug layers were really good,” she said. “We had to put them off for two weeks in a row and when we were ready for this weekend they were busy! But they juggled their schedule around.”

Smith said it appears that all things should be ready this weekend and that the move should start on Monday.

That is, as long as the rugs are in.

jsmedley@sunjournal.com

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