Caryl House restoration project draws 6 bids

The Dover Board of Selectmen presented an update on the estimated $94,000 project to restore the Rev. Benjamin Caryl House. The house, built in 1777, was home to Caryl and his family.

The restoration work would include repairs to the exterior woodwork, plaster finish and wood sash and frames, as well as interior and exterior paint jobs.

According to Chairwoman Carol Lisbon, the process to fix the property, which Dover Town Historian Dick Vara called one of the finest examples of early rural Georgian architecture in the area, began with a Town Meeting vote in 2009 to use $10,000 to pursue a study on the Caryl House.

At last years Town Meeting, $150,000 was approved to start construction on the project and to preserve this wonderful asset to Dover, said Lisbon.

There are currently six competing bids to do the project, and once a contractor is selected, work will begin.

She added, The next step will be for Richard Smith, who is our architect, to review all these bidders.

Board member James P. Dawley Jr. made a motion to accept the lowest responsive and responsible bidder for the contract, which was seconded by Joseph Melican.

Lisbon noted that less work needed to be done than previously thought and the cost came in lower than expected. She thanked Assistant Town Administrator Greer Pugatch for her incredible efforts in working on the project.

The board also reviewed the ballot questions for the Dover Town Warrant. The first nine, Lisbon said, are standard, while articles 10 through 23 are new items.

Article 4 concerns the operating budget items. These items include the appropriation of $10,436 from debt services for septic repairs.

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Caryl House restoration project draws 6 bids