WOOLWICH

Members of the building committee continue their work with an architect in order to devise plans for an expansion of the municipal building.

The selectboard Monday night approved up to $8,000 for new design plans, and is working with architect David Matero.

In May, residents rejected spending as much as $1.3 million for the project, but space and privacy issues persist, town officials say.

Town officials are hoping for an L-shaped addition, including a basement, on the end of the building away from U.S. Route 1. Voters could reconsider the office expansion at annual town meeting next May.

The selectboard will conduct public hearings and make surveys available once Matero completes his sketches.

Dana Lindsey, building committee chairman, told the board the committee has given Matero three options, using the original plan as a base.

Once Matero sketches the options, Lindsey said the committee wants to do a community survey. The public could choose from those options, and the one with the most votes would likely be the option brought to town meeting.

David King, selectboard chairman, said he thinks it is best that the town center kept in one location.

The town plans to have voting at the school this year and town meeting there next spring, King said, but it would be nice to have decent office space for the town staff and a selectman’s meeting room to use.

King and Bill Longley, a building committee member, indicated they felt the town meeting vote supported moving forward with the plans and bringing something back for them to vote on at the next town meeting.

In another matter Monday night, Bruce Engert, the codeenforcement officer, said he has taken pictures of the waterfront and boat launch areas up to George Wright Road for the purpose of completing a permit application for removing vegetation and improving the swimming area.

The “tier one” application would involve about a quarter of an acre of a wetland, Engert said.