WESTERLO — The general election is just a few months away, but town residents are eager to cast their ballots now on one question: Should Westerlo renovate its town hall and rebuild a highway garage with a budget of $2.75 million?

When it was solely a question for the town board, the board passed a resolution to go forward with the project despite several citizens calling for more hearings. Board members cited the leaking roof of the highway garage, the cost of delaying the timeline, and the high energy costs of both the garage and Town Hall.

But a petition from residents forced the referendum, to be decided on Sept. 1, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the town hall.

On Aug. 4, the board decided to forgo absentee voting, which allows ballots to be cast by voters unable to do so in person.

Board members made the same decision with another special election by permissive referendum five years ago, when town residents voted to purchase the town hall, once an elementary school, from the Berne-Knox-Westerlo School District for $145,000, funded by a state grant.

A town with about 3,400 people, Westerlo has a municipal budget of $2.6 million.

Supervisor Richard Rapp said this week that the board’s decision not to offer absentee ballots was motivated by time, concerned that the process of forming a board of personal registration to have absentee ballots would push the project’s start into the spring.

Asked about the stark contrast between the board’s bond resolution and the petition for a referendum, Rapp said, “Somebody’s going to complain, no matter what you decide. You have to make a decision, and we did,” he said, adding that the garage is in a dire state. With one of the largest decisions affecting the town’s tax base up to residents, the supervisor said he hopes the referendum passes.

The tax burden for an average property was estimated at $100 per year, according to Delaware Engineering, which is handling the design and planning of the project.

Rapp estimated the cost of the election at $4,000, but Matthew Clyne, the Democratic commissioner of the Albany County Board of Elections, said the cost won’t be determined until after the ballots are printed.

Some of the renovations to Town Hall include making its entrances accessible to people in wheelchairs, expanding parking and sidewalk space, modifying the interior layout to make offices for town court staff and State Police, and upgrading the heating system. The heating upgrade will be funded with around $66,000 of grant money left from the purchase of Town Hall.

The highway garage would be demolished after the court and State Police are moved into new spaces. The new garage is expected to be of a similar size with more insulation, and possibly an upgraded septic system and re-drilled water well.

According to the town’s legal notice, the new building and Town Hall renovations will have a life of roughly 30 years, while the bond will be paid off in 20 years.