FARMINGTON — Selectmen unanimously approved a letter of understanding Tuesday that confirms the town’s intent for the gift of the medical-practice building on Franklin Avenue.

The letter to Franklin Memorial Hospital confirms the town’s intent to use the property for a police station for at least 10 years, Town Manager Richard Davis said.

The hospital intended that the gift be used for the Police Department and they wanted to set a time period on the gift. If the town should decide not to use it for that purpose, the hospital would have first refusal on the property, he said.

The hospital is now expected to turn the property over through a quitclaim deed, he said.

In other business on a long agenda, the board voted unanimously to seek additional bids from electricians for a lighting upgrade at the Municipal Building.

Only one of two locally approved electricians has bid on the project so far. The second electrician is a selectman and unable to bid on the project. Selectman Andrew Hufnagel said he wasn’t comfortable with just one bid and nothing else to compare it with.

The board discussed how to seek bids without specifications on the project and then decided to make the energy audit available for other electricians to work from.

With Efficiency Maine rebates available, the cost for the upgrade will be paid back in savings within three years, Davis said.

The board also agreed to reconsider bids for lead paint abatement at the Hippach Fieldhouse. Since the board considered a contract last month with Bangor Abatement for $13,400, Davis learned that any contractor using lead-safe procedures can do the work and it doesn’t have to go to a lead abatement company.

This opens it up to a wider range of contractors. The board decided to go ahead and seek new bids.

The board also agreed to pay half the additional cost of pipe to finish the Tannery Brook sewer main replacement project. The work was half completed last year and stopped over the winter, providing time to attain easements, Davis said.

Since fall, the price of pipe has increased. The needed amount to finish the project is $6,100.

The United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development funding does not allow for increases. The cost to re-bid the project is estimated at nearly $3,000, Davis said.

The contractor suggested splitting the cost, with the town and contractor each paying $3,050. The town would avoid the cost of re-bidding and additional legal costs, Davis said.

The amount would come from the sewer budget’s reserve account or line upgrade account.

“The cost of materials has skyrocketed,” Selectman Ryan Morgan said.

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