LIVERMORE FALLS – Town Manager Jim Chaousis has his hands full trying to figure out how to fix the leaking municipal building and get on track with the bike and walking path.

The projects have been ongoing for three-plus years.

Chaousis has been meeting and talking with roofing contractors and masons trying to get a handle on where the water is coming into the municipal building and what can be done to fix it. A new rubber membrane roof was installed in 2006. However, the building still leaks.

Contractor David St. Hilaire, whose Auburn company installed the roofing, spoke to selectmen at a meeting in April during a rain storm, and told them that it is not the roof that is leaking. There was no apparent leaks at the time.

When it does leak, St. Hilaire said, it is when rain is accompanied by a driving wind. It is the walls that are leaking, he said.

Mason Andrew Pratt also gave selectmen his opinion of the problem that same night and agreed with St. Hilaire.

Pratt said the brick-style building was not designed for Maine and should be in a drier state.

The biggest problem, Pratt said, is that all the joints are recessed.

The first thing that should be done, he said, is to fill in those cracks and repoint all those joints. To do the job 100 percent, flashing should be installed, Pratt said.

Chaousis told selectmen Monday that he plans to have the product manufacturer send a representative out to inspect the roof to determine if the membrane was correctly installed and what needs to be done to get a warranty. The inspection cost is $500.

Chaousis said he is exploring ways to attack the problem on a smaller scale and possibly use town workers to fix the brick problem.

In other business, Chaousis said he met with a representative of the Department of Transportation on the proposed bike and walking path expected to start behind the police station and end near the boat launch on Foundry Road along the Androscoggin River.

Chaousis said the town has raised the money needed for the project that was initiated in 2004.

The last known cost of the project, given by former Town Manager Martin Puckett in 2008, was an estimated $228,000 for about three-quarters-of-a-mile path. The municipal and federal money allotted for the path was $204,000, with any amount over that falling back on the town. The final cost will depend on if it is paved or not.

The town already has raised its share, Puckett had said, with the remaining money to be covered by a trust fund left for recreation purposes and leftover money from a previous recreation project.

The town was initially responsible for $28,000, and the federal grant contribution was for $176,000, he said. The town’s portion was appropriated by voters from rollover grant funds.

Selectman Bill Demaray asked if it was worth spending all the money. Resident and former Selectman Kenny Jacques said yes, the people wanted it done.

In other business, selectmen plan to meet at the SAD 36 Central Office at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday to sign papers for the school budget votes.

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