AFTON – The Town of Afton voted down a proposition Tuesday to borrow $400,000 to combine a new town hall and court room with the highway garage project on state Route 7.

FEMA approved up to $515,000, or 75 percent of the cost to replace the previous garage after it was irreparably damaged during the severe floods of 2006. The town maintains $215,000 in a capital building fund which would be used in part to cover the remainder of the project in conjunction with site preparation work that is counted as “work in trade.”

Supervisor John Lawrence, R-Afton, said the question put to voters this week sought to include the town hall and court in the same new building as the highway garage with an additional $400,000 bank bond to cover the additional costs. Repayment would have been spaced over a period of 20 years at a 3.9 percent interest rate, approximately $29,200 each year, he said.

The proposition failed Tuesday, by a vote of 345-190.

“I feel very good that there was such a show of public opinion on this issue,” said Lawrence. “Do I wish it had gone the other way? Yes. But I’m very happy with the number of people that turned out.”

Lawrence explained his support of the project stemmed from health and safety concerns in the current town hall, located at 169 Main St., and a desire to upgrade the building in a cost-effective manner.

“The building has been there since 1869, and the repairs that we’d have to do to bring it to municipal code are much more expensive than what a private operator could do,” he explained, citing mold in the basement and a lack of an elevator to the second floor as a few of the main concerns.

An assessment of the building by an architect revealed an estimated $388,000 worth of repairs and additions to bring the building up to code, said Lawrence.

“We don’t have plans for the current building right now,” said Lawrence. “But we will address any serious issues that come up ... at this point there isn’t anything we have to do right now, but down the road that might not be true.”