WENDELL - An architect reviewed plans with town commissioners last Wednesday for expanding the community center to include a new senior center and converting the existing facility into a new police station.

The current town hall, built in 1962, has become too small for the town staff. Planners sometimes have to roll out maps on the floor to look at them and police are storing items in a mobile storage unit outside town hall while they work to convert the old jail space into a more appropriate storage space.

Tony Johnson, a Clayton architect who grew up in Wendell, told commissioners it would cost approximately $3.1 million to expand the community center and another $658,000 to convert the existing senior center into a police station. He met with the board during the group's annual planning retreat held at the Community Center.

But that's only if the town begins construction next year.

Inflation will continue to add to the cost, Johnson said. He projected about a 4 percent annual inflation rate on the cost of the work.

The plans call for adding about 12,000 square feet to the existing community center. The new section of the building would house the senior center, but the space would be available to the town at times when the senior center is not open.

Johnson told commissioners that adding onto the building would also mean making improvements to the existing community center, such as installing a sprinkler system.

The work to convert the existing senior center into a police station would cost substantially less because no exterior walls would have to be constructed. Most of the work to that facility would require reconfiguring inside walls to control the flow of traffic. The building would also house a workout room for town employees and have meeting space that could be accessible to the public.

Commissioners asked Johnson to report back to the board in February with some minor changes to the plans, including the cost of exterior fencing around the new police department.

At that point, commissioners will decide whether to apply for a loan with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund the construction.