By Jack Minch
The Lowell Sun
TOWNSEND, Mass. — The town is ready to start repairing the Fire Department’s Central Station Annex behind Memorial Hall, where exterior clapboard is rotting, said Town Administrator Andy Sheehan.
The rot was discovered a couple years ago when prisoners from the Billerica House of Correction painted the building, said the Board of Selectmen’s administrative assistant, Carolyn Smart.
The wood is soaking up moisture from the ground in one corner, at the rear of the building near the Ice Cream Factory parking lot, Sheehan said.
“When it rains, the water splashes and leads to decay,” he said.
The clapboard and corner molding running up the side of the building were clearly rotted near the ground yesterday.
Facilities Coordinator Mark Mercurio and Building Inspector Richard Hanks will coordinate the repair work.
“What they are trying to do is catch the rot before it gets worse and undermines the structural integrity in the corner,” said Fire Chief Donald Klein.
Workers from the Cemetery & Parks Department will use an excavator to dig down next to the building so there is an 8-inch clearance between the ground and clapboard, which will meet the town’s building code, Sheehan said.
They are also expected to lay stone in a trench to draw water away from the building, Klein said.
The building was built in the mid-1980s, said Hanks, who will issue the building permit for repairs and inspect the work. It is 1,712 square feet.
The Fire Department uses the building to house two fire engines and a ladder truck, as well as the forestry engine, Klein said.
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