ARUNDEL – A Special Town Meeting is set for 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb 14 where voters will decide whether to appropriate funds to demolish the old municipal building.

Voters in Arundel will decide Feb. 14 whether to appropriate $50.000 to demolish the vacant former town hall at 468 Limerick Road. The building shares a lot with Arundel Fire Station. Tammy Wells photo

The old town hall has been vacant since municipal operations were moved to the new municipal building, a mile down Limerick Road, in the fall of 2020.

Voters are being asked if they wish to appropriate $50,000 from the town’s fund balance for  demolition of the building.

The proposal has been recommended by the board of selectmen and the Arundel Budget Board.

The Special Town Meeting will be held in the meeting room of the municipal building at 257 Limerick Road.

Town Manager Keith Trefethen said the proposed $50,000 appropriation includes all aspects of the demolition of the building – from taking down the building, the foundation, and removal of the debris  He said the town’s  public works department will fill provide backfill and seeding after the demolition.

Selectmen began discussing the demolition of the 1876 structure and held public hearings last year, but said there was little response. The building was once a social facility known as Parvo Hall.

Townspeople voted in favor of a new municipal building in 2019. At the time, it was noted that enough space to conduct business was an issue in the old building and that its mechanical, electrical, plumbing, life-safety, building envelopes, insulation, roofing and security systems were beyond their life cycle.

Trefethen said the old municipal building and the active Arundel Fire Rescue building are on the same lot.

“Thoughts are, if or when expansion of the fire department is necessary that the lot, once the building is removed, can assist with this planning,” he said.