EDDINGTON – After years of cramped space for the Fire Department and town office and code violations with the municipal building the two share, residents endorsed going forward with plans to construct a new addition at Tuesday’s annual town meeting.

“Before we moved forward, we wanted to find out from the voters what they wanted,” Town Manager Russell Smith said to the approximately 59 residents at the meeting.

The endorsement means the town’s building committee can continue its work on plans to address space needs and solve the code issues at the 32-year-old municipal building, but it does not raise any money for construction.

Over the next few months, the committee is expected to develop options, including constructing an addition or a separate building, that will be presented to residents for their approval before any ground is broken, Smith assured residents.

“Public hearings will be held and notices will be sent out before anything is done,” he said.

Preliminary figures to construct an addition to the municipal building are estimated at $950,000 and are considerably less than the $2 million suggested when constructing a new stand-alone municipal building was first brought to the forefront numerous years ago, Smith said.

Some residents suggested that the town consider a building that is designed to expand in the future, especially because the town is growing, and another requested that it be wired with modern technology, including video telecasting capabilities, so town meetings could be broadcast.

During the town meeting, residents also endorsed a town budget of $829,055 for fiscal year 2006-07, an increase of $39,705.

The town budget includes $20,160 for general government, $243,752 for administrative salaries and expenses, $168,800 for highways, $229,756 for protection, $128,087 for human services, $6,000 for the capital improvement account and $32,500 for town revaluation.

Residents also approved moving $15,000 from the Fire Department equipment reserve to purchase a replacement all-terrain vehicle and trailer, $5,000 from the special services reserve account to provide matching funds if the town attains a Community Development Block Grant and $7,500 from the municipal building reserve to replace roof shingles at the town office.

Even though the town office roof “will not last another year without new shingles” the town may not need to use the funds because the reroofing could possibly be included as part of the larger town office project, Russell said.

“We may be able to work it into the project,” he said.