TOPSHAM — Upgrades to the 10-year-old security door system at the public safety building may be installed next month.

The Board of Selectmen is scheduled to discuss the matter at the Thursday, March 2, meeting.

The building’s keyless entry system for its internal doors – installed when the building was constructed in 2007 – has been giving the town problems, but cannot be repaired and must be replaced, according to Town Manager Rich Roedner.

The new system, budgeted in the current fiscal year, will cost about $16,000, Deputy Fire-Rescue Chief Mike Labbe said in an interview Feb. 23. The current system is proprietary – considered a single unit, as opposed to having components that can be repaired or replaced as needed – and runs off an outdated Windows XP program.

“The circuit boards aren’t available anymore, and they’re failing,” Labbe said, adding that staff has been “piecemealing it” until the new technology is in place.

The new system, which will be non-proprietary, could be installed in a month and a half. Exactitude, a Cumberland-based commercial door and hardware services provider, will install the system.

“We knew about (the issue) last year, but the cost came in higher than $16,000,” more like $18,000 to $25,000, Labbe said. “By holding off and searching (for a better deal), we got the price where we needed it to be.”

The system covers all of the approximately 25 doors in the building, including the police section.

Alex Lear can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 113 or alear@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @learics.

With a green light this week from the Board of Selectmen, Topsham will install a new security door system in the next month and a half at the Public Safety Building.

A keyless entry system was installed when the Topsham Public Safety building was constructed in 2007.