MARION  — Forming a building committee will be the next step toward constructing a new DPW facility that was approved by Marion voters last week, select board members agreed at their Tuesday, May 17 meeting. 

“There are some complicated decisions we have to make pretty quickly,’’ Town Administrator Jay McGrail said.

The composition of the committee will likely be decided at the board’s next meeting on June 7, McGrail said.

Questions were raised about the best size for the committee. McGrail suggested the committee include a select board member, representatives from the Department of Public Works and a few residents who he said have provided helpful insight in the lead-up to the vote.

Randy Parker, who was elected chair of the board earlier in the meeting, suggested four members of the general public might be a good number.

“I’m inclined to have a little more rather than a little less,’’ said Toby Burr of the ideal committee size. Burr, who was attending his first meeting since his election Friday, May 13, said that reaching out to the community can solicit ideas. 

Parker said he hopes the project moves forward quickly. “We’re losing traction,’’ he said, because costs keep rising.

One decision the committee will face is what type of construction process to go with, McGrail said.

Using the traditional option, known as design/bid/build, the town would seek out an architect to do a full-scale design, then put out a call for bids for a contractor to do the work.

The state also allows the town to use modular construction procurement, which does not require the selection of a designer.

Instead, design and construction of prefabricated modular units are combined in the manufacturing process.

The project will cost $4.456 million, with free cash covering $1.5 million of the cost and the remaining $3 million to be borrowed. Voters supported the project at Town Meeting May 9 and then approved a debt exclusion question at the May 13 town election to allow the funding to be done outside the taxation limits of Proposition 2 ½. 

The new facility will allow the department’s equipment to be stored safely out of the elements. The salt supply, now in an exposed pile, will also be sheltered through the new construction. 

McGrail said he appreciated voters’ support for the facility. “This is an exciting project for us,’’ he said. 

Work is underway already, McGrail said, on the early stages of constructing a new harbormaster’s building, which was also approved by Town Meeting voters.

A $350,000 Seaport Economic Council grant awarded last fall will cover costs of the design, permits and hiring an owner’s project manager, a state-mandated position that works with the town to oversee larger projects, McGrail said.

Further work is contingent on an additional $2 million in grants from the council. One grant has been submitted this spring, McGrail said, while another is due this fall.