Maintaining the town’s buildings is no easy job. Between the three schools, Town Hall, the library, the police and fire station and the DPW garage, Facilities Manager Brian Adams has his hands full.

At the request of the Board of Selectmen, Adams came before the board last week to discuss his department, its range of responsibilities and its needs. Adams prepared a summary of each facility he is responsible for, including how custodial services are provided, the backlog of maintenance work needed, and the major facility needs for each site.

Adams has been the Facilities Manager for two years. He said while there is limited funding and not enough staff, and town is currently operating at a level of cleanliness far below what it should be - it has made great strides over the past two years, and even within the past few months.

"Many preventative maintenance programs have been established in the past year. For example, fire alarm and sprinkler system maintenance and inspection, security/burglar alarm maintenance, water treatment, kitchen hood maintenance, generator maintenance, boiler maintenance and inspection and elevator maintenance," he said in a letter to Town Manager Bill Griffin. "This year we plan to implement roofing preventative maintenance and inspection along with electrical systems preventative maintenance and inspection. In the future we need to implement a preventative maintenance and inspection program for the bleachers, along with a playground program."

Adams said he currently has a three-man maintenance crew (which includes himself) for the town’s buildings and four daytime custodians for the schools. The schools also have an outsourced cleaning crew, which comes into the buildings at night. The daytime custodians take care of things such as spills in the cafeteria, shoveling snow, or other maintenance issues. The crew at night is responsible solely for cleaning.

Adams said one person on his three-man crew is responsible for cleaning Town Hall, the library, the police and fire station and the DPW garage. "That puts a big burden on one guy," he said. He added in terms of maintenance, he and one other person cover all the issues that arise at all the town’s buildings. With such limited resources, there is no one available to clean the teen garage, the harbormaster’s building or the senior center. "A couple of extra hands would make a big difference," he said.

At Town Hall there are 10 major facility needs, which should be taken care of sooner rather than later. The building needs its air conditioning chiller replaced, a new air-conditioning system for the old section of the building and the basement meeting room, window replacement, electrical upgrades in the old section and restroom upgrades in the old section. It also needs a security system, as it does not currently have one. Window sills need replacing as they are rotting due to moisture and the auditorium needs upgrades including paint, door and floor replacement, and lighting upgrades. The parking lot needs improvements and the building needs a generator, as it does not have one right now.

The library is in need of roof repair. it has some major roofing and drainage problems. The Our World Children’s Global Discovery Museum, located in the back of the library, has flooded, as has the basement of the library. Adams said he had the independent consulting firm of Gale Associates take a look at the building’s roof and it said some of the slate should be replaced. In light of the report, Adams has put out a Request for Proposals to solicit bids for the work. There are also issues with the gutters on the building, as they were taken off during construction and never replaced. There is also no security system at the library.

The police and fire station currently needs a new roof on the police station side as well as its generator replaced to include power for its air conditioning system. The building also needs electrical upgrades. The DPW garage is in need of a security system.

The schools have significant needs as well and the middle-high school needs roofing repairs and building envelope investigation/repair in the library. Adams said during wind-driven rains, there is a leak in the library, and things need to be opened up to figure out where the water is coming from. The building also needs a new building automation system (BAS), which optimizes the start-up and performance of the building’s HVAC system. The BAS would be linked with the other buildings. The visitors’ bleachers were also taken down on Alumni Field and should be replaced, and the field’s track needs to be repaired. The science classrooms also need exhaust fan systems.

The Deer Hill School will need a new BAS system to be linked with the other schools, as will the Osgood School. Osgood also needs a new emergency generator, as it currently has none, and carpet replaced upstairs. The playground equipment needs to be upgraded or replaced, as the school now has a new preschool and runs only through grade two, and some of the equipment at the school is meant for older children. The school used to have students up to grade three. Adams said it has also been requested that pavement be installed at the rear of the building.

Selectman Rob Spofford questioned why the property needed to be paved out back. As the former chairman of the School Building Committee he said the decision was made on purpose to not pave at the rear of the building. Adams said DPW Superintendent Carl Sestito made the request, as it would allow the paved areas to be plowed during the winter and provide another means of emergency access to the school via Old Pasture Road. However, Spofford said not paving behind the school was to ensure the Old Pasture neighborhood would not have undue traffic and the administration at the schools did not want to have cars driving close to the playground.

Selectman Gary Vanderweil said in his opinion, the issues which need to be taken care of first are the leaks and drainage problems that are causing water damage. Griffin said the town would do the best to remedy the situation and said he planned to meet with the Capital Budget Committee this week to discuss articles that should be included on the fall Special Town Meeting Warrant.