FARMINGTON – A Superior Court justice upheld the town’s right to discontinue a half-mile section of upper Hovey Road without fixing it.

Franklin County Justice Joseph Jabar denied New Sharon tree farmer Perry Lamb’s appeal Tuesday of Farmington voters’ decision to discontinue the road without adhering to Franklin County commissioners’ order to repair it. The cost would have been about $56,000 to make the dirt road a 16-foot wide way.

Lamb of Brunswick owns nearly 1,600 acres in New Sharon with some acreage bordering Farmington.

Lamb had brought suit against the towns of Farmington and New Sharon and county commissioners back in 1999 over four interlocking country roads he claimed were illegally discontinued. Superior court justices ruled in favor of the towns on three roads leaving only the upper Hovey Road in question.

The latter case was supposedly settled when a justice officiated an agreement between Farmington and Lamb.

But once Farmington residents voted to discontinue the road before fixing it, Lamb appealed the decision to see if the agreement had been interpreted correctly.

Lamb claimed the settlement agreement meant the town had to fix the road before it was discontinued.

Town officials believed that if the cost of fixing the road was too high, voters could decide to discontinue it, which they did.

Lamb was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

“I feel bad for Mr. Lamb because he’s fought a good fight,” said Farmington Town Manager Richard Davis. “I’ve got to say I admire his tenacity and legal skills but on the other hand the law is what it says it is and I believe the judge made the correct interpretation of the law.”

dperry@sunjournal.com

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