Selectman Rich Nunes wants the Town Hall Annex Committee to drop the idea of building a new Town Hall in favor of a new annex.

“The need is getting a new annex so that we don’t have to lease any more from the Women’s Club,” Nunes said at the Nov. 21 Selectmen meeting. “I think it’s pretty clear that resources are limited and we really can’t afford to do a new town hall.”

Currently, the town rents space in the Rochester Woman’s Club for $30,000 a year, but even that is overflowing.

What to do with the town departments has been a subject of debate for a while. In May, the committee said it favored building a new town hall that could accommodate all departments, but cost estimates were almost $5 million for that project.

At the recent Special Town Meeting, residents voted down a $20,000 study to explore a solution to the problem, and Nunes said it's obvious the townspeople don't support a new town hall.

He said it would be less expensive to build a new annex, perhaps adjacent to the Town Hall.

The Town Hall itself, which is not handicap accessible, also needs updates, but Nunes said the annex could be added in such a way that it would not require additional work. The Town Hall, built long before the Americans with Disabilities Act, does not have to comply with the law as long as it remains as is.

Brad Morse suggested the next course of action was to meet with the Town Annex Building Committee.

“No matter what,” he cautioned, “it’s going to cost money.”