It is never pleasant when it starts raining indoors, so to get ahead of any future problems, the Community Center is slated for a new roof this year.

At the Board of Selectmen meeting on Jan. 17, the board approved an award for $14,500 to the architectural firm HAKS to begin work on a new roof for the building. The firm will provide services including construction administration, technical specifications, and assisting with the bid and the selection of a contractor to go before the Standing Building Committee.

The architect chosen was the low bid of the two proposals submitted for the project. Funds for the architect come out of the $165,000 line item approved in this year’s capital budget for the new roof. Parks & Recreation Director Rick Maynard said construction will take place this year.

“Over the years we have had some leaks, which we patched,” he said. “It is not leaking now because it has been patched, but we want to be proactive now before we start having problems…The shingles are at that age where they are going to have a problem, so we want to meet it.”

Maynard said the roof shingles are now hitting their 25-year age limit. Rather than just hire a builder or contractor, Maynard said the town is soliciting the services of an architect, similar to what has been done with other town and school buildings, to make sure the town understands all that needs to be done with the roof.

“The Community Center roof is not like a homeowner’s roof,” he said. “There are many peaks and valleys, vents, and angles that make it a more complicated roof to re-shingle. There are many gutters and downspouts. In addition, there is a flat roof that must be evaluated to determine if it must be replaced. We recommended an architect to be sure we have the proper specifications and updated codes to go out to bid.”

The architect will help in outlining the specifications for the project before it goes to the Standing Building Committee for approval and then out to bid for construction.