ARUNDEL — People driving down Limerick Road in the past couple of weeks have seen earth moving equipment, laying out the site of the new Arundel Town Hall.

Voters approved construction of the new, 7,000-square-foot municipal building by a show of hands at a Special Town Meeting vote on Nov. 16.

At the time, town officials said Ouellet Construction of Brunswick told them they soon hoped to get started on the project.

They did just that, and have subcontracted the site work to Kennebunk-based Brex Corp. said Arundel Town Manager Keith Trefethen.

“They’re defining the parking lot, where the building will be and the roadway, to at least establish a surface so they can work on the project throughout the winter,” said Trefethen in a telephone interview last week.

He said Ouellet Construction has a trailer at the site and hopes to have power to it soon. He said the company’s intent is to work on the project this winter.

The Town Hall is being constructed to be energy efficient. The 7,000-square-foot structure is designed to have R-40 insulated walls and an R-60 roof and will include the solar energy needed to power the new building generated on site.

To finance the building, voters approved $2.9 million through a 20-year bond. With an estimated 3.21 percent interest rate, the total amount to be paid is about $4.2 million, according to the Special Town Meeting warrant.

Arundel has no other bonded indebtedness, Trefethen said. Arundel has sought a bond anticipation note and is currently “going through the paperwork” with Biddeford Savings for interim financing. He said the town anticipates applying for the 20-year bond through the Maine Municipal Bond Bank.

Ground breaking for the project is expected to be scheduled soon.

Trefethen said Ouellet Construction personnel estimated it would take a year to build the new Town Hall.

The new building has been on the minds of people in Arundel for some time; voters approved the purchase of 10 acres on Limerick Road in 2017.

The current Town Hall was constructed in 1876, was renovated in the mid-1970s, and has been deemed inadequate for its purpose.

“It is obsolete by modern standards,” Jack Turcotte, who heads the municipal building committee, said in a November interview prior to the vote. He said all of he building’s systems – mechanical, electrical, plumbing, life-safety, building envelope, and security — as well as insulation and roofing, are well beyond their life cycle and that there are other problems, such as a lack of accessibility, the lack of a sprinkler system and more.

Turcotte was town manager prior to Trefethen’s arrival.

“The biggest problem I see with the (current) building is there is no privacy and an antiquated second story with no access other than a narrow stairway people hit their head on,” Turcotte said. “Everybody is crowded and there is no privacy. It is not a professional setting. A lot of professional transactions and conversations happen in a municipal building.”

All offices for the new municipal building will be on one floor, and will include a meeting room large enough to hold 100 people.

About eight to 10 people work full-time at Arundel Town Hall, Turcotte estimated.

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