GORHAM — Voters will decide in November whether to bond $4 million to renovate the town’s public safety building on Main Street.

The Gorham Town Council voted in a special meeting Wednesday to add the question to the Nov. 6 ballot, said Town Manager David Cole.

He said the council also voted to ask residents on Nov. 6 if they want to bond $500,000 to renovate the former Little Falls school.

Earlier this month, the council considered asking voters if they wanted to bond $5.75 million to turn the Little Falls school into the town’s primary police station, which would have made more room in the public safety building for the fire department.

The police and fire departments share the public safety building, but officials say they don’t have adequate space there.

Some councilors said at the Aug. 7 meeting that they needed more time to consider the plan. They asked PDT Architects to draw up designs for renovations to the Little Falls building and the public safety building that would allow both departments to be housed in one place, as they are now.

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The town has not received designs back from PDT, Cole said. Regardless, the council decided to move forward with the public-safety building option.

The need for more space for the police and fire departments was first identified by the town in a study in 1999.

Previously, the town looked at turning the Little Falls School into a fire station, but did not receive a federal grant it applied for to help pay for  the proposed $8.7 million project.

In February, the council asked PDT to look at turning the Little Falls building into a police station.


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