Two town-owned properties in Gray will soon be on the market, with perhaps more to follow, as the Town Council prepares to move forward with the voter-approved plan to put the municipal offices at Pennell Institute.

Councilors voted Nov. 10 to contract with CB Richard Ellis/The Boulos Co., the Maine branch of one of the world’s largest commercial realty firms, to list and market the properties. The first to be listed will be the old Post Office at 8 Shaker Road and the current town office at 6 Shaker Road.

Council Chairman Peter Gellerson said The Boulos Co. was selected because of its experience with similar commercial real estate, as well as its nationwide reach. The company was one of four real estate firms who bid for the project, and was the low bidder with a commission of 6 percent.

Gray residents voted overwhelmingly Nov. 4 to renovate the historic Pennell Institute for use as the municipal office. Coupled with that plan was a proposal to sell surplus town properties, with the proceeds helping to pay down the bond needed for the $2.4 million Pennell project.

According to The Boulos Co.’s proposal, the old Post Office will be listed with an asking price of $250,000, with the expectation that it will likely sell in the $200,000-$230,000 range. The Town Hall will be listed at $240,000, with a likely sale price of $190,000-$225,000.

“Certainly the market right now has got to be poor,” said Gellerson. “Nonetheless, you never know unless you put it up for sale.”

Meanwhile, a committee is being formed to draft a design for the offices in Pennell. Consisting of town officials, Pennell alumni, historical society members and other residents, the committee will provide prospective designers with ideas on how the building should be renovated.

“The committee’s draft would provide some general guidelines to prospective designers, such as preserving history, providing access to the disabled, incorporating an emergency operations center into the design, and so on,” wrote Councilor Mark Grover in response to an e-mail seeking comment.

The committee could even be imaginative in the way they seek public input, Grover said.

“Perhaps the committee will even recommend that there be a preliminary design competition or some other novel way to manage the project,” he said. “I’m open to suggestions.”

Once the committee’s plan is finalized, the project will be put out to bid, Gellerson said.

“Our hope is that we get all the fine tuning done this winter and have a design firm selected in the spring and be ready for construction sometime in the summer,” he said. “We could be in the building in the summer of 2010.”

As large as the price tag is on the Pennell project, Grover wants to make sure that the tax dollars are spent wisely and efficiently. All aspects of the design must be considered, he said, and the public should be involved in the open process along the way.

“I believe it is important to be thorough during the project design phase to better predict and control the full costs,” he wrote. “For example, I think that the town’s information technology must be considered during design.”

If the current town office were to sell before the Pennell renovation is complete, municipal operations may be moved to another location for a time, Gellerson said. Town Manager Deborah Cabana is now looking for suitable locations, he said.

Other town properties, like Stimson Hall or the Dry Mills Fire Station, may be added to the sale list in the near future, Gellerson said. At the moment, both buildings have restrictions that must first be settled before they go on sale.

Stimson Hall, where the Town Council and various other town committees meet, was donated to the town more than 100 years ago with the stipulation that the Universalist Church be allowed to worship there for free. The Universalists have not used Stimson for years, Cabana said, and the town attorney is researching how the town should handle the century-old commitment.

“Nobody uses it. Nobody maintains it. Basically, it’s just the town,” she said.

The Dry Mills Fire Station, which The Boulos Co. sees as a future garage or industrial site, also has restricted uses. The land was donated by Richard and Shirley Reid in 1961 with the stipulation that if it is ever used for something other than a fire station, ownership reverts back to the Reids. The town is trying to resolve that matter as well, Cabana said.