WEST STOCKHOLM -- The Town of Stockholm holds a second public information meeting about the proposed town hall on Monday, April 11, at 6 p.m. in the West Stockholm Fire Department.

The town is proposing to borrow up to $1.175 million to build a new town hall in Winthrop, although the board and project planning committee believe the final cost will be substantially less.

“Despite our efforts to keep the cost down, the estimates seem quite high. Fortunately, we have already seen ways we can keep costs down,” said Town Supervisor Clark Decker.

The town plans to contain costs by doing some of the work themselves. Specifically, the town highway department will excavate for the foundation, do the final grading, put in the retaining walls and build the parking lot and driveways. Other costs will be reduced by hiring their own clerk of the works to oversee the project, reducing the time the architect, Beardsley Design of Malone, will spend to provide oversight.

“We originally wanted to build the town hall primarily with volunteers,” said Robin McClellan, a member of the planning committee, “but there were too many regulatory obstacles.” To date, though, volunteers on the committee have put in hundreds of hours on planning and administration, saving the town thousands of dollars.

“This is perfect timing for this project,” said committee member, Carol Simpson. “Energy prices are the lowest in years, contractors are in search of work and interest rates the lowest in my lifetime.” In addition, the town has been very conservative financially and has very little debt compared to neighboring towns, according to McClellan.

Details about the building and its financing will be presented at the meeting and the committee and some board members will be available to answer questions.