By Winslow Durgin,Special to the Sun Journal

MINOT – Selectmen agreed Monday night that they had no basis by which to reconsider their decision to declare a portion of Old Buckfield Road abandoned.

Maine Municipal Association attorney Richard Flewelling advised them they could reconsider their September 2004 vote on the road only if new evidence indicates their original decision was unsupported by the facts.

“But we haven’t seen any evidence work has been done (on Old Buckfield Road) in 30 years,” Selectman Dean Campbell said.

The board also decided Monday it should allow a petition calling for a town vote on the acceptance and repair of the road to go forward, even though members and the chief petitioners agree it is flawed.

The petition, which was submitted in February by Mary and George Buker, does not address the specific procedures that must be followed for an abandoned road to become a town way.

George Buker maintained that selectmen have mishandled the Old Buckfield Road issue from the beginning and pointed out that in the past 10 or 20 years selectmen have allowed the development of town roads that had not received attention in a long time.

“You are making a decision different from other roads – Jackass Annie Road – and the only leg that I’ve got to stand on is your treating this differently,” Buker said.

In other business, Road Manager Arlan Saunders told selectmen that the final coat of pavement on Highland Drive, a road in Center Minot Heights subdivision, failed engineering tests.

A test revealed that the asphalt content was low and lacked sufficient density, and that there was a layer of organic material between the base and top coat.

Saunders also reported that he had finished the work with Hebron on its summer road program and that he had sent Hebron selectmen a bill for $5,800.

Saunders said the Maine Department of Transportation has made some improvements at the intersection of Center Minot Hill Road and Route 119, cutting back brush and adding some reflectors. He said he was advised that if the town wanted to add a streetlight “it would be on our nickel and we would need to have it installed.”

Selectmen Steve French suggested that town meeting voters be asked to fund a light at the intersection. “It’s clear a good part of the problem is driver inattention but a light there sure would make it easier for our emergency crews when they respond at night.”

Office Manager Connie Taker announced she is sending out notices telling department heads and others that town meeting articles need to be submitted to the town office by Jan. 20.

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