DURHAM – The application process for the three positions on a first-ever Durham Public Works Department has closed.

Jeff Wakeman, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said that an interview committee will take over from there, and make its recommendations to the board sometime in March. The closing date on the town’s purchase of the Public Works Department facility at 1099 Royalsborough Road, meanwhile, is May 30.

Janet Smith, the town administrator, said the public works crew will work out of a trailer near the town sand/salt shed on Hallowell Road until the new garage becomes available.

“Their actual start date would probably be mid-April,” Wakeman said. “We have quite a lot to iron out. We will be looking at that move in the next few weeks.”

The help wanted section on the town website listed a foreman/equipment operator, mechanic/equipment operator and truck driver/laborer as the three open public works positions. The salary range for both the foreman and the mechanic was posted at $17-$21 an hour, while the truck driver would be paid $12-$16 an hour.

“There’s a fair number of applicants, especially for the truck driver,” Wakeman said.

A public works budget would be subject to approval at the April 5 annual town meeting.

The town put out a purchase-and-sales agreement for 14 acres of land and buildings at Copp Excavating on 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.

The property includes more than 10 acres, with a garage, offices and storage space. Currently, the town shares its road commissioner, Shawn Bennett, with Pownal. There are two part-time workers and a winter plow contractor.

The board agreed earlier this winter 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 Department of Public Works.