" ?We do need to discuss this,? said vice chairman Pat Hudson. ?We need to let people know we can afford this,? added selectman Frank Juchnik. The current estimated cost is between $310,000 and $330,000 for the highest energy efficient building possible, with promises for future savings."

" Town Administrator Sandra Blake clarified that there is $72,000 in reserve to offset some of the costs and that currently the payment per year, if financed for 10 years, should be between $40,000 and $45,000 per year with a recommendation to set aside one half of this amount until the building is paid, and an amount somewhat more to fund reserves for building repair. Also, she feels strongly, that if the building gets built according to traditional design but is energy efficient, there will be no increase in tax dollars. ?We were supposed to pay off the firehouse in ?08, but we will be doing that sooner, in seven-and-a-half years instead, and it is my understanding that it was planned to build the town office after the fire house is paid off.?"

" As has been reported recently in The Lincoln County News, a committee was formed to investigate constructing the new town offices using an energy efficient design and materials. Architect John Hansen and Rob Nelson are two members of the committee that appeared before the selectmen to discuss the building. "

" Hansen said that though he did not have a formal presentation, he appeared to answer questions and provide information, but he also said that, ?we have to freeze the plan, before we can talk financing. We have been going around and around on this project, but I?d like to say in the last couple of months with the new committee, we?ve had some very positive meetings with obvious energy and it has been more productive in my opinion than anything in the last three or four years.? "

" Hansen said that all the designs have provided for greater energy efficiency, heating, ventilation, and with the use of structural insulated panels and insulated concrete forms along with simplifying the design, there?s still been the effect of driving up the up-front costs a bit."

" ?The operational costs will be less,? he said, ?and it will pay for itself. We just don?t know what that payback period would be.? Hansen then said that with the tight planning schedule, it became apparent to the committee that ?we weren?t going to make it this year; we don?t want to go forward with a plan without all the facts, and we can?t tell anyone specifically what the savings will be because we don?t have time to calculate that. It?s a little heartbreaking to hear that we?ll have to postpone everything another year.?"

" Hansen then said that the problem that surfaced was a request by the selectmen to modify the design. ?Something came down that we were going back to a basement.? "

" Hansen then explained to the selectmen that if a basement is built and is even used for storage, an elevator must be installed under ADA guidelines. ?If an elevator is not installed, a basement or an attic cannot be used for any purpose other than to house mechanicals,? said Hansen, who then voiced additional concerns about wetness."

" Selectman Ellen McFarland asked, ?If you are taking us 50 years into the future [with this building design], what do we do about the additional needs for storage? A basement wouldn?t cost that much more and one of the ?pros? for separating the existing town office was that the wetness of that area posed no problem, and that it was a non-issue. Now, we are told there would be wetness. It wasn?t in my mind to mandate that we have a basement and compromise on
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