WAYNE -- Selectmen are asking taxpayers for extra funds to rid the Town Office of mold and rehab the municipal building.

Residents will decide whether they want to pony up the money at a special town meeting Oct. 6.

Town employees last week moved into a temporary office at Wayne Elementary School after discovering a mold infestation at their regular quarters on Lovejoy Pond Road.

An inspection by Complete Home Evaluation Services, a Brunswick company, showed the proliferation of mold spores likely resulted from air conditioner condensation dripping down wall panels onto carpeted floors.

The air conditioners lack drains that could direct condensation away from the structure, Town Manager Amy Bernard said.

"In the town manager's office, it's definitely been dripping inside the wall since it was installed many years ago," she said. "Because we've had such a wet summer and the humidity level's been so high, it's been worse this year than in past years."

The Complete Home Evaluation Services report recommends removing carpeting, wall paneling, drywall and insulation and dehumidifying the Town Office for four days.

The town meeting on Oct. 6 will likely be the first of two special meetings addressing Town Office mold.

The town will request estimates over the next two weeks from contractors offering to remove carpeting, wall paneling, drywall and insulation, Bernard said.

Selectmen expect to recommend that residents back one of those bids at the town meeting.

"We'll pick up the carpet and demolish the wall to see how bad the mold is," Bernard said.

Once contractors have removed the moldy walls and carpets, Bernard said, selectmen will ask residents to fund a Town Office rehab at a second special town meeting.

It's too early to estimate the cost of a rehab, Bernard said.

At a selectmen's meeting Tuesday night, some residents suggested a complete renovation of the Wayne's town office while others suggested building an entirely new office.

Stephanie Haines, a former selectman who attended the meeting, said a number of Wayne residents would prefer to see the Town Office remain at its Lovejoy Pond Road location. The building is the last remaining structure from a mill complex in North Wayne, she said.

"It's a nice, old brick building, and it can be rehabbed, and I feel not at a large expense," Haines said.

The Oct. 6 meeting will start at 6 p.m., likely taking place in the Wayne Elementary School gymnasium.

Matthew Stone -- 623-3811, ext. 435

mstone@centralmaine.com