DURHAM – The Durham Public Works Personnel Committee was scheduled this week to recommend to the Board of Selectmen job descriptions to fill the town’s first-ever Department of Public Works.

Jeff Wakeman, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said that if the board concurs with the committee’s suggestions, it would establish a Hiring Committee, which would work with the board in the hiring process.

“We could put out job descriptions next month,” he said.

The Dec. 17 meeting was held after the Tri-Town Weekly’s publication deadline.

The town could hire an unspecified amount of public works employees in April. A public works budget would be subject to approval at the April 5 annual town meeting.

Wakeman said that the board agreed Dec. 10 to put out to bid five pieces of public works equipment, including two plow trucks, an excavator, a backhoe loader and a wheel loader.

At last April’s town meeting, residents approved approximately $2.8 million to create a Durham Department of Public Works. Selectmen then established Public Works Facilities, Personnel and Finance committees.

Wakeman said that, based on the Facilities Committee recommendation, the town put out a purchase-and-sales agreement for 14 acres of land and buildings at Copp Excavating, located at 1099 Royalsborough Road. Owner Mike Copp, the town’s plowing contractor, said that the town paid the full asking price of $890,000 and that the closing is set for May 30. Copp will move his business to Pinkham Brook Road.

“It’s 10-plus acres with a garage, offices and storage space,” Wakeman said. “It’s almost all the buildings we need. We chose this option over building new.”

As it stands, the town shares a road commissioner, Shawn Bennett, with Pownal. There are two part-time workers, and a winter plow contractor.

Wakeman said the establishment of a Department of Public Works will take two to three years.

“Based on the studies we had done, we felt we could do more with the same amount of money,” he said. “Most work had to be contracted out.”