STRONG — The Forster Memorial Building and town office spaces need some care and updating, and selectmen are asking townspeople for ideas.

Selectmen reviewed the possibility of replacing building and grounds maintenance employee Emily O’Donnell. She cleared walkways in winter, cared for landscaping in summer and does maintenance inside the building. She works 16 hours a week, according to Board of Selectmen Chairman Jim Burrill. O’Donnell notified selectmen that since she and her husband have moved to Farmington, she will not be available to to do winter shoveling. Selectmen agreed they did not want to lose her as an employee, but the weekly hours do require the shoveling. Burrill will ask her to attend the next meeting and discuss options.

“We ought to start thinking and talking about it,” Selectman Mike Pond said.

Her husband, Jeff O’Donnell, and son, David, have served as trustees for the Forster Memorial Building, so the board will need two representatives to replace them.

“Somebody needs to step up to replace them,” Pond said.

Town clerk Betsy DuBois said she and employee Aaron Marden have been gathering data, including costs, to submit a grant that could help offset costs to make their current workspace more efficient and ergonomically comfortable.

DuBois said her armless chair and counter-space desk are at heights that increase her neck and shoulder discomfort. Remodeling the area could allow DuBois and town treasurer and tax collector Sandra Mitchell to share space more comfortably. Two don’t have a separate or confidential area to serve customers, and selectmen agreed that also was a problem. The grant application deadline is soon, Marden said, and preparing a list of materials and costs has been a challenge.

“We have to come up with a third of the total expense,” Marden said.

Selectmen approved purchasing chairs and related equipment for existing workstations and postponing the grant application until the spring.