The board has promised to make Sanders Road a priority next year.
By Cora C. Briggs
Special to the Sun Journal

LIVERMORE – Sanders Road residents crowded into the meeting room and stood outside Monday night to tell selectpersons how they feel about their road.

The outspoken citizens complained for over an hour, questioning how decisions were made on road work and accusing the board of neglecting the roads.

“You’ve neglected all the other roads while doing these sections,” said David Dion, referring to extensive work being done on the River Road.

Dion offered to patch Sanders Road himself, if he could get access to the town’s patching and a town truck to haul it in.

His enthusiasm was dampened when Administrative Assistant Kurt Schaub said, “You have to be employed by the town to drive a town truck.” One citizen’s reply to that was, “There’s a road crew.”

When Selectperson Brenda Merrill suggested the complainants ask to serve on the Road Committee to help out, she was told that former members had gotten off that committee “because things were done behind closed doors.”

“Nobody listens to the Road Committee, so I got off,” said former Road Committee member Clarence Gordon. A current member, George Benoit, agreed.

One resident said she might need town help in getting to her work in Lewiston this winter so she could afford to pay her taxes. Another said people won’t visit them because of the road, while another said their property values were going down. “No one will want to buy,” he said.

The entrance off Route 4 was cited as dangerous because it has no signs and had a buildup of sand. A delivery person was quoted as saying Sanders was the worst road that he travels, and bus drivers were said to be getting flack for being late.

“If Sanders Road doesn’t get fixed pretty soon, people should start submitting bills for damages,” said Bob Scherpt.

The board listened patiently and acknowledged the truth of the complaints, promising to put Sanders Road on the top of the list for next year.

“Find us a way to get more money,” Selectperson Tom Berry said, as he noted it costs $100,000 a mile to rebuild a road. This year, the board cut road funds by $50,000 in an attempt to keep taxes down, he said.

Selectperson Wayne Timberlake added that the only alternative would be to go to bonding, which would allow more roads to be repaired but also probably would mean that the debt would outlast the roads.

The town has many needs, Berry commented, as he reminded citizens that in the past few years the town had purchased a fire truck and two highway trucks.

“We’re doing our best to get to your problems as quickly as we can, it’s a matter of money,” he said.

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