POLAND – At Tuesday night’s board of selectmen meeting in Poland, the board was presented with an estimate of cost for repairing or replacing the handicap ramp at the Poland Town Hall.

The town has been struggling with what to do with the handicap ramp since the original contractor failed to complete the job, and of the parts that were completed, many, it was noted, did not meet code.

The general consensus of the board, the town code enforcement office, and of the architectural firm who provided the cost estimate is that existing structure must be replaced.

The architectural firm, Grant Hays Associates, provided the board with two estimates. The first, using all steel and concrete, totals $144,717. The second, which would substitute wood for some parts of the ramp, totals $121,834. Mike Hays and Steve Grant, who presented the estimates and building plans, reassured the board that these figures were purposefully on the high end of their estimate, because they would rather estimate high and have the town come in under cost, then estimate low and come in over cost.

Hays and Grant stressed that in the long run, they felt the steel and concrete option would save the town money in maintenance and repair costs, as well as provide a sturdier, safer ramp. They estimated that a partially wood structure would last 10 to 20 years, while the steel and concrete could last upwards of 50 years, if not longer.

“How would you describe what is there already?” asked board Chairwoman Sandra Knowles, referring to the structure that needs to be removed.

“What’s there already is already showing signs of fatigue,” said Hays. Because it is so late in the season, and due to the additional cost of rebuilding, the board will have to wait on hiring a contractor to complete this work until spring, after the ground has thawed and after the matter has been brought to town meeting.

Copy the Story Link