NEW GLOUCESTER – Paving projects begin in town next week, New Gloucester selectmen learned on Monday.
Public Works Director Kevin Doyle gave the board an update on the status of the town’s gravel road maintenance projects currently under way.
Paving projects are earmarked for the Tufts, Megquire and Rowe Station roads. In addition, preparatory work started on the Bennett, Mayall and Town Farm roads.
Doyle described local dirt roads as being “not in too bad shape, but need to be ditched.”
The Toby and Swamp roads, which are closed in the winter months, require extensive costly upgrades, said Doyle.
At least 600 man hours of work and 45 loads of gravel along with extensive culvert work is needed for upgrading the Swamp Road.
Over the years, selectmen and Chandler Brothers, a private land company, have discussed closing the road, which has been plagued with illegal trash dumping, four-wheelers and partygoers over the years.
The Swamp Road is 4,918 feet long, or .93 miles, and the Toby Road is .77 miles. Neither road has houses on it.
Doyle said a survey is under way to prioritize road projects townwide. He expects to begin a plan that follows a managed approach, prioritizing for all town road maintenance needs.
In other business, Town Manager Rosemary Kulow will directly notify delinquent solid-waste haulers that the annual fee is overdue. Two letters to the haulers have resulted in no action. The private trash haulers are Portland-based Waste Management of Maine and J & T Lawn Care of New Gloucester.
Selectmen said that if payment is not received, the next step will turn over the matter to the town attorney for legal action.
The board approved purchasing a one-ton dump truck from Casco Bay Ford at $39,500. The board agreed to proceed with a gasoline engine rather a diesel engine, which would cost more than budgeted.
No bids have been received from contractors to replace the wood siding on the Meeting House in Lower Gloucester, prompting selectmen to take a different course of action. The town manager was authorized to contact Ironwood of Portland, which replaced the clapboards at the town hall last year, to see if the company can meet the town’s specifications this year.
Selectmen also signed a contract with the New Gloucester News to rent the basement of the town’s library at a fee of $100 per month for 12 months.
Finally, the Maine Emergency Management Agency awarded the town $33,000 in grants to cover two major snowstorms in February and March.
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