NEW SHARON —  Residents voted 106-13 on Tuesday to build a fire station/town office and finance it, Selectperson Lorna Nichols said in an email.

It would be built on the Town Office property at 11 School Lane.

Voters authorized the Select Board to use about $391,000 from town accounts. That includes about $200,000 from the Fire Station Reserve Account, about $66,000 from the miscellaneous general fund, about $25,000 from the Dump Closure Account, and $100,000 from the town’s general account.

The building was proposed after a metal pipe wrapped in asbestos burst in October, temporarily closing the Town Office. Over the years there have been other problems with the former high school and Regional School Unit 9 central office. It was built in 1949.

The fire station is on Main Street, which has been a dead end street since the state closed a bridge there several years ago.

The principal cost for the project is estimated at $982,400. Along with interest on a loan it comes to $1.25 million, according to the town meeting warrant.

Voters also approved obtaining a construction loan for up to one year with monthly interest-only payments due. It is not to exceed $982,400.

Residents approved the board selling the fire station by sealed bid, with the proceeds going toward the new building costs.

Voters want the board to negotiate a lease for the vestry of the New Sharon Congregational Church as a temporary Town Office during construction. It is to include monthly rent, heat, electricity and plowing, and payment of internet and phone service.

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