Town Planner Christine Nelson know that when it rains, she needs to be ready. Her tools? An empty wastebasket that she puts on her desk to catch the drips that come through the Land Use office ceiling whenever it rains.

Those persistent leaks—and the need to end them—is the reason that a town roofing consultant and Town Building Official Don Lucas were lifted by fire truck ladder recently to examine the Town Hall roof and gutter system.

What they found and photographed was a Town Hall gutter system that had failed only 10 years after a building renovation project that installed it ended. Also found to be rotting due to water and ice damage were fascia boards to which the gutters are attached. With this finding, the project was expanded to also include repair of the fascia assembly for the gutter system.

Based on the photographs and the town’s data on the roof and gutter system, the town sought three quotes from roofing firms able to correct the problems. The lowest of the three quotes at $24,755 came from Macri Roofing of Meriden, whose principal, Mike Macri, lives in Old Saybrook.

Last week, the Board of Selectmen voted to award a contract to Macri Roofing for $24,755 to fabricated and install a built-in gutter system using lead-coated copper metal on both sides of the Town Hall entrance. The scope of the project also includes repair of deteriorated sections of the fascia assembly, installation of new crown and sub-crown molding on both sides, and application of primer paint coats to all newly exposed wood. A new ice and water barrier will also be added.

First Selectman Carl Fortuna, Jr., told the board, which approved the contract award unanimously, that the funding request would now go to the Board of Finance next week and then to Town Meeting for final approval.

The funding source will be the capital and non-recurring fund in which the town has been setting aside cash each year to pay for building and other capital maintenance projects.

If a Town Meeting can be scheduled for late September or October, Fortuna said he remains optimistic that the work to fix the gutter system could be completed before winter arrives.

The town also put out a Request for Proposal (RFP) to install a new natural gas boiler in place of the existing oil-fired boiler used to heat the Youth & Family Services building on Main Street. A gas line was already installed in the firehouse driveway to provide an economical fuel source for that building’s new gas boiler.