DEERFIELD — The chair of the Town Buildings Advisory Committee appeared before the Selectboard this week to share progress the committee has made on a building maintenance plan.

Julie Chalfant, who serves as chair of both the Finance Committee and the Town Buildings Advisory Committee, gave a brief presentation laying out the “very preliminary” draft maintenance plan for buildings in Deerfield, like the 1888 Building, Police Station and Tilton Library.

The draft plan lays out early estimates for work, timelines for those maintenance projects and the period of time needed for recurring projects. For example, the Department of Public Works building needs its ceiling tiles replaced every 15 years with an estimated cost of $10,000.

“We have virtually looked at all of the buildings in town and came up with a very preliminary first draft plan for maintenance of those buildings,” Chalfant said. “Our plan is next to go through and do inspections of the buildings.”

Originally established in 2018, the committee was charged with creating a maintenance plan for town-owned buildings, as well as the responsibility of overseeing rehabilitation projects and creating other recommendations for town space needs.

On top of annual maintenance estimates, Chalfant’s committee also lays out potential capital projects, such as the Old Deerfield Wastewater Treatment Plant or Deerfield’s share of Franklin County Technical School’s upcoming capital projects.

This initiative falls in line with the Capital Improvements Committee’s ongoing goal to lay out five-year and 15-year plans in an effort to better prioritize town spending.

The Town Buildings Advisory Committee will continue to flesh out its work and adapt its plan as a “living document.” As the work continues, though, Chalfant said there are three key things that will be needed to ensure the maintenance is effective: “A person, a plan and money.”

She requested the Selectboard make town building maintenance one of its topics when interviewing candidates for the permanent highway superintendent.

Selectboard members thanked Chalfant and other members of the Town Buildings Advisory Committee for their work, as this sort of planning will keep buildings in good condition.

Selectboard member Trevor McDaniel said the spreadsheet “shows the cost of deferred maintenance,” while Blake Gilmore noted this work will save the town money in the long run, as it will “expand longevity of these buildings, too, so we wouldn’t have to replace them as quickly.”

As the planning moves forward, though, Chalfant emphasized this is “still very much a work in progress.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.