OXFORD — Town Manager Adam Garland told selectmen Thursday evening that the new municipal building at 127 Pottle Road was inspected this week and three issues need attention.

The inspector advised the roof will likely need to be replaced within the next five years; the airflow and heating system is working but will need to be assessed to determine its life span; and the exterior will need some basic cosmetic touch-ups.

Garland said he expects the town will be able to close the sale with Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway on July 15.

Sewer Department Superintendent Zhenya Shevchenko advised the board that he expects it will be necessary to utilize the reserve fund to order replacement equipment now and in the future.

Over the past winter testing showed several of the pumping station’s membranes used for filtration needed to be replaced. Once the initial membranes were replaced the system began operating much more efficiently.

He alerted selectmen as early as a year ago that it would cost the town $500,000 to completely overhaul the system and requested a reserve account for the purpose.

The account stood at $175,000 after the 2021 annual town meeting.

“That problem was fixed,” Shevchenko said. “But there is a situation with parts. Something which is supposed to be a shelf item, for example a motor, we are waiting for months now. Looking at what’s going on, I would like to have some stuff stocked on the shelf. Some stuff is getting obsolete already. We lost a heat pump, but instead of repairing it we actually had to replace it.”

Shevchenko also said some monitoring equipment at the town office on Pleasant Street will need to be moved once the building is sold, including an antenna that transmits data on waste plant operations.

Selectmen presented Ron Kugell, who recently retired after 38 years as a director of School Administrative District 17, with a plaque recognizing his service.

“We would like to present this plaque to Ronald Kugell for a lifetime of service,” Board Chairwoman Sharon Jackson said. “He has served in the roles of police chief, town meeting moderator, SAD 17 board of director, and many more. You made a difference every day. The Oxford Board of Selectmen thanks you for your service.”

“It’s easy when you work with a great bunch of people such as yourselves,” Kugell said. He then jokingly excused himself for a date with his wife at Walgreen’s, a typical night for a “senior, senior citizen.”

In another matter, the board voted 3-2 for the Oxford Historical Society to proceed with a plan to relocate the Pigeon Hill Schoolhouse, which has stood on Route 26 since it was built in 1860, to the Kay House Museum grounds on Pleasant Street.

The land it sits on at the Rabbit Valley Road intersection has been sold by the Thurlow family, who want the town’s last one-room standing schoolhouse to be preserved.

Selectmen Scott Hunter, Floyd Thayer and Vice Chairman Dana Dillingham voted in favor; Chairwoman Sharon Jackson and Caldwell Jackson voted against.

Oxford Historical Society President Patricia Larrivee, Lifetime Trustee Elton Record and Historic Preservation Committee member Kathleen Dillingham presented steps to determine how to move the building. Dillingham said a benefactor is paying for the move and renovations will be done with grants and fundraising, and no expense to the town.

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