CARRABASSETT VALLEY – The Outdoor Center project is back on the agenda for the Board of Selectmen’s meeting at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The board will make a decision whether to hold a special town meeting to ask the town for additional funds for the project, Town Manager David Cota said.

The board reviewed bids this week for the construction project that includes renovating the 3,000-square-foot building that opened in 1976 and adding another 3,000 square feet. The project also includes a new skating rink larger than the one in place and trail improvements on the center’s 22 acres, he said.

While the town approved borrowing approximately $1.2 million for the project at the March town meeting, Cota said, after paying engineer and architect fees, the lowest construction bid came in at more than what’s left.

The board received three bids on the project and reviewed them Monday. The lowest was $1,259,000 from Linwood Doble of Kingfield, Cota said. The figure would leave a deficit of approximately $180,000. There was concern that a $50,000 contingency be included, leaving 10 to 12 percent overrun of approximately $228,300.

After reviewing the bids, the board voted unanimously to move forward and seek potential savings without jeopardizing the project, Cota said. The architect and contractor were meeting Thursday to discuss potential options for curtailing expenses, and then the project oversight committee will meet today to come up with a new number.

Their recommendations will be forwarded to the Board of Selectmen for review Tuesday when they anticipate calling for a special town meeting to ask for more money. The meeting is expected to be scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12, at the Touring Center, Cota said.

Another part of this package expected to appear as an agenda item for the special meeting, he said, involves funding to replace the skating rink. At the March town meeting, the town approved $25,000 in matching funds from the town’s recreation endowment in anticipation of receiving $25,000 in grant funds for the project. While recreation grants have been obtained in the past, the town will not know until September whether it has a $25,000 grant.

In the event there is none, the board will ask the town for approval to take $50,000 from the town’s undesignated surplus fund.