LEYDEN — After a year of work and walkthroughs, members of the town’s Building Needs Study Committee have presented their list of immediate and essential repairs needed for town properties.

In all, the board has identified about $351,000 in needed repairs at the Town Offices, Town Hall and Fire Station, as well as some smaller repairs for the Highway Department’s salt shed, according to committee Chair Ken Medvetz.

“It’s still a work in progress, we’ve got some ups and some downs. … It’s like a jigsaw puzzle,” Medvetz said. “The past repairs had been done haphazardly or very minimally. We’re trying to start from scratch to get the town back up into good, quality buildings.”

Leyden’s Building Needs Study Committee was reconvened in fall 2022 after years of inactivity because the town was seeking to put together a more comprehensive plan for building maintenance and improvements, Municipal Assistant Michele Giarusso explained at the time.

Joining Medvetz on the board is former Northampton facilities manager David Pomerantz, civil engineer David Vreeland and mechanical engineer Richard Parks.

In their work, Medvetz said they’ve been looking through the town’s properties and determining the priority levels for repairs and improvements. The most pressing matter, he added, is the roof of the Town Offices because of the building’s “everyday use.”

“One part of the roof is worse for wear and will need to get replaced in the next year,” Medvetz said, adding they are also looking at the building’s windows for better energy efficiency and adding more insulation.

Other priorities include preventing water seepage from entering the Town Hall, which is typically closed for most of the winter, and repairing the salt shed.

From the Selectboard perspective, Chair Glenn Caffery said Leyden, like many towns, has old buildings with issues that have built up through “deferred maintenance” and discussions are needed on where to go from here.

“We have, in some cases, the puzzle of whether it makes sense to invest a whole lot of money into a building that is not great to start with, or if another approach is good,” Caffery said. “We’re incredibly fortunate we have this team of experts in the Building Needs Study Committee. … They’re going to be ongoing consultants.”

In terms of the $351,000 estimate, money could come from one of several funding streams, including American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, a Green Communities grant, different town funding accounts, or future state and federal grant opportunities.

While the committee presented its big-picture findings to the Selectboard and community in October, Caffery said Medvetz and his fellow committee members have also been identifying “critical needs that have arisen” and the town has been completing those projects “as needed.”

Examples Medvetz gave include replacing an electrical panel at the Fire Station, which was a safety issue, and installing small solar-powered lights around the Town Offices’ parking lot, which helps people safely get to their vehicles after meetings during dark winter nights.

As town officials and residents discuss needed repairs and how to fund them, Medvetz said he and the other members of the Building Needs Study Committee are going to continue their work.

“These are the things we’re trying to put in place and overcome, and make it the best possible place for people as we age,” Medvetz said, adding that having well-maintained facilities can help draw in younger families as well.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.