RUMFORD – The Municipal Building Committee on Tuesday chose two designs it will consider in order to bring the historic structure into compliance with state fire regulations.

A bare-bones proposal by architect Jim Reuter of Smith Reuter Lull of Bethel would cost the town about $828,000. Reuter’s second proposal, which would move the elevator to the outside, is estimated to cost about $1.2 million.

Newly elected committee Chairman Jim Thibodeau said the committee will likely make a recommendation next Tuesday when all members are expected to be present.

Residents, however, will be presented with the two options at a special town meeting set for Dec. 5. Public hearings on the two options are tentatively scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Nov. 2 and 16.

The lower cost proposal would increase the size of the stair tower at the rear of the Municipal Auditorium, install a fire alarm system, eliminate the bathrooms, at least one of which does not meet legal requirements, and provide partial enclosures for the main floor and auditorium entrance staircases. It would also add handicap-accessible bathrooms on each floor of the building, and eliminate the stairway from the current women’s bathroom on the main floor to the basement.

The higher-priced option would include all of the above features, plus move the elevator to a new exterior stairwell and elevator entrance on the fire station side of the building and reconfigure portions of the hallways in the basement and on the main floor.

“Having the elevator on the outside cleans up a lot of problems,” committee member Matt Palmer said. “A lot of elderly and handicapped people are reluctant to come into the building because of the difficulty.”

Reuter said a new elevator would also be sized for a stretcher, and be in line with current code requirements. The existing elevator in the middle of the back of the auditorium is not large enough for a stretcher.

“We haven’t done much to this building to make it user-friendly in more than 40 years,” Thibodeau said.

Town Manager Steve Eldridge said money for the project could come from state bonding, an increase in taxes for one year, or a combination of both. He was directed to bring figures on the costs to the Oct. 31 meeting.

Reuter said construction could start in the spring, and be completed in six months.

Federal and state inspections since early 2006 produced a list of about 100 safety and health violations in the Municipal Building, the fire station and the town garage. The town was ordered to come up with a plan and a timetable for compliance.

The most expensive fixes are adding more exits to each of the Municipal Building floors, building walls to enclose many of the municipal offices, and installing fire alarms, emergency lights and sprinkler systems.

A letter from the State Fire Marshal’s Office in September and a follow-up visit a couple of weeks later warned the town to have a plan in place to address code violations by Dec. 11. If nothing is done, the Municipal Building could be shut down until it is made safe, according the fire marshal John Dean.

Because of the safety issues, no more than 49 people may be in the auditorium at the same time, according to the state fire marshal.