Hooksett’s Town Council and Budget Committee members have been discussing how to address the maintenance shortage in the town’s public buildings.

The council’s talk was sparked at a meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 28, by a mention of the $15,000 necessary to clean the Hooksett Safety Center’s heat/ventilation/air conditioning system, which has not been cleaned since the building was completed in 1997.

Council members cited several other problems with the building, stemming from wear and tear on the building and weather conditions.

Town Administrator David Jodoin recalled that snow was actually found in the ceiling paneling of the Safety Center at one point, blown in by drafts in the building.

Town Councilor Jason Hyde, liaison to the Budget Committee, told the rest of the council the idea of a full-time maintenance person and more specific maintenance budget line had also been kicked around in recent Budget Committee discussions.

Currently, there is a part-time maintenance person responsible for repairs and upkeep for all 13 town-owned buildings, but Jodoin said his budgeted 25 hours per week is still not enough time for that person to get to all of them as regularly as he should, especially with the ongoing Village School renovations.

Council members agreed the current maintenance program is causing extra work and money in the long run.

“It seems to me we end up with more problems than we ever thought would occur,” said Councilor James Gorton.

Hyde said that although he usually refrains from giving his blessing on spending money, he would be glad to provide the town with a solid, full–time maintenance person and go-to who, even if he could not fix a problem himself, could call on the correct people to do so.

“That’s one of the things that I would be willing to put in the town budget,” said Hyde. “I think it would be worth the town’s money.”

Council Chairman Paul Loiselle commented that a full-time maintenance person and a separate line in the budget for such operations should be considered in the approaching budget cycle.

“It’s a serious missing part of the budget,” Loiselle said, drawing agreement from the other town councilors.

Building maintenance, said Jodoin, accounts for about $35,000 in the budget each year. Departments such as police and fire do not pay for maintenance out of their own budgets. Rather, they submit requests to the town for needed repairs and improvements, and the money is allocated from that town budget line based on need.

The maintenance problem particularly applies to the Safety Center because it is the most used town building, and consequently sees the most wear and tear.

“This is one of their responsibilities,” said Police Chief Stephen Agrafiotis, referring to town officials. “Police and fire are just tenants here.” He added that the town needs to provide some funding for preventative maintenance for the building.