MECHANIC FALLS – Leaders hope to reopen the Mechanic Falls Town Office by the end of February, within two weeks of the $700,000 project’s contracted completion date.

Plumbing, electrical and heating systems are all finished, Town Manager Dana Lee said Friday. And the second floor, where the Police Department is now housed, is about 98 percent complete.

But the first floor, where the town’s administrative offices will be located, is still between 25 and 30 percent unfinished, Lee said.

“It’s crunch time,” said Lee, who has shepherded the project since it began last May. It is due to be done by Feb. 18.

However, workers will likely miss the deadline, he said.

Ceiling tiles and flooring await installation and walls need painting. On Tuesday, an inspector is scheduled to examine the new elevator. And within two weeks, the local Adult Education program plans to move into the second floor.

Town administrators, now housed in a trailer in front of the Route 11 office, would move in by the end of the month.

“Whether they may will depend on how much effort and overtime the contractor does,” Lee said.

Taxpayers will not pay the price for a modest delay. As part of its contract with the town, renovators signed built-in penalties for late work, which would pay the price for needed rent to the office trailer and other costs.

In spite of any delay, Lee said he was pleased with the work of the contractor, H.E. Callahan of Auburn, and Architect Thomas Spugnardi.

They faced problems that could have made the schedule even tighter.

Last summer, the project was delayed for more than two weeks when problems arose in the planned elevator shaft. Sandy soil there made it difficult for workers to dig the needed 4-foot hole.

Meanwhile, the Police Department continued to operate in its old offices on the first floor, amid the sounds of workers hammering. In January, they moved up to their new offices on the second floor.

The renovated building will likely be given an open house in May, Lee said.

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