A public hearing on the Putnam Hall building on West Main Street was held Wednesday evening.

Grant funds are being sought to restore the building to be used for retail stores, offices and educational purposes, but there is a delay.

Town Administrator Rick Kwiatkowski said the town decided to delay applying to the Community Development Action Grant (CDAG) program until the next round of funding in the summer or fall of 2006 because the deadline of Dec. 22 this year could not be met. He said the delay is due to the notice to proceed on the Smart Growth grant, which will pay for architecture and engineering services, was not received until Dec. 12.

A request for quotes to hire an architecture firm will be sent out soon, he said. The firm is to prepare a design and detailed cost estimate for retail and commercial space.

Kwiatkowski said there will be meetings with the Greenfield Community College and Athol Memorial Hospital to consider space for training and educational purposes, and the architect will be meeting with these entities to discuss the issue.

Rather than try to meet the Dec. 22 using old figures, Peggy Sloan of Franklin Regional Council of Governments, in her conversations with the Economic Development Administration, advised waiting until later in 2006 when updated cost estimates would be known. Sloan said the EDA advised that it would not be wise to go forward without knowing the estimates.

Pat Smith of the committee overseeing the project confirmed Sloan’s findings. Smith said an administrator from CDAG has toured the building. “He was extremely interested in the town going forward,” she said, adding that they did not have that many applications this year. But because the estimates are so old, it was not wise to proceed this year.

Smith explained that the Smart Growth grant is for technical assistance and design and cost estimates. The CDAG and EDA grants are for construction, which Kwiatkowski said could begin in 2007.

“At this point, we have tentative approval to be utilized for commercial and store front to North Quabbin Woods,” Kwiatkowski said, adding that the bottom section of the building would be used for wood working and shop, and the first level for retail space for wood products.

Scott Maslansky of North Quabbin Woods said the business has been guaranteed a $94,000 grant, with an estimated $15,000 to be used for the design of the interior, and the rest is project oriented. A federal grant applied for is $330,000 which, if approved, would be slated for “bricks and mortar.”

Asked about the structure of the building, Kwiatkowski said the building is still structurally sound. The interior has been gutted, and the problem is with the roof that has water runoff. He said the building inspector has money in his budget that can go towards fixing the problem.