HAMPDEN — An underground pipeline at the site of the new Hampden Municipal Building could cost the town 12 parking spaces — or $10,000.

A U.S. Air Force fuel pipeline extending from Searsport to Loring Air Force Base in Limestone passes under the proposed location of the municipal building’s parking lot. Air Force officials say that if parking spaces are to be built over the pipeline, it will have to be dug up, encased and reburied.

Furthermore, all digging must be done by hand and not machine, said Don Lewis of Lewis & Malm in Bucksport, project architects, at last week’s Town Council meeting. He added that the work likely would cost $10,000.

The pipeline is located about 200 feet from where the municipal building will be. However, the location is a “tight site,” Lewis said, leaving little room for reshaping the lot.

At that meeting the Town Council awarded the contract for construction of the municipal building to P.J. Sulinski and Sons Inc. of Old Town for $910,901.

The facility will be located on Western Avenue (Route 9), next to the post office. The new facility will house the town offices, council chambers, police department and the town ambulance service. Construction may take eight months to a year.

According to Town Manager Marie Baker, the proposed parking lot will hold 100 spaces. She added that the high number of slots would accommodate voters’ vehicles on Election Day, and other events attracting similar traffic.

A committee established at last week’s gathering will review whether the lot can be redesigned and what it will cost the town.

The council had budgeted $934,000 for construction of the municipal building, leaving about $25,000 after the bid was awarded to Sulinski. Baker said it was likely that the leftover money would be tapped to pay for any renovations.