BY SCOTT MONROE

Staff Writer

ST. ALBANS -- Last December, town officials decided to organize a holiday concert in the Town Hall auditorium, with donations helping to pay for repairs to the century-old building.

But then it snowed. A lot. The concert was canceled.

On Friday, they'll try again this year, with a concert lineup at the Water Street building that includes local musical acts, singers, food and more. Donations at the event will go toward the Town Hall renovation fund.

The weather forecast is calling for a 50 percent chance of rain showers, though fortunately for the town, no snow.

"We're working on refurbishing windows in the auditorium now and we're asking for donations," said Town Manager Rhonda L. Stark. "Our goal is to raise as many funds for the Town Hall renovations and get into the spirit of the holidays by donating to our local communities in need."

The concert will start at 6 p.m. Friday and will feature the Nokomis Regional High School jazz chorus, bell ringers from the Hartland Methodist Church, songs from the St. Albans Union Church and other local talent. The Denbow Family Band had been scheduled to perform but on Monday had to back out because of illnesses, Stark said; they will be replaced with a local St. Albans group that will play Christmas music.

There will also be door prizes, a food sale at the concert with turkey pies, cookies and other goodies, and donation boxes for The Giving Tree for children up to age 18 and for non-perishable items for the Food Cupboard. It should last about an hour and a half, Stark said.

Some of the 31 windows inside the Town Hall auditorium have been fixed over the years, but a wholesale repair has never been done, Stark said. The windows need refurbishing, she said, as many are cracked or broken.

Stark estimates it will cost an average of $200 to $250 to repair each window, meaning more than $6,000 will probably be needed to complete the job.

Individuals have the option of paying the entire cost of repairing a window, Stark said, and in those cases a plaque would be installed beside the window with the name of the benefactor.

"All 31 have something wrong with them," Stark said. "One window may cost less to fix than the other, but hopefully we'll get an average."

Because of cost, a Town Hall Renovation Committee recommended against purchasing new storm windows, Stark said, and instead said the existing windows should be refurbished with new glass installed.

The committee also recommended fixing the windows, instead of replacing them, to preserve the historic features of the building, Stark said.

The window repairs would come following a handful of recent projects at Town Hall, including replacing an outdated electrical system and building's front steps and ramp through tax dollars and donations.

Scott Monroe -- 861-9253

smonroe@centralmaine.com