WILTON – Selectmen on Tuesday voted against discontinuing five roads whose legal status are uncertain.
The roads, Gould, Gordon, Milkman, Kingsbury Way and Hathaway, were approved as town roads but were not recorded as such.
Town officials thought it was not the town’s responsibility to plow and maintain roads that were essentially private driveways. Their basis for determining which roads would come under review was an ordinance for the city of Augusta that declared a town road must have three residential homes on separate properties. The ordinance does not apply to Wilton, and residents urged selectmen to create an ordinance establishing a written definition for a town road.
People noted the roads are used for farming, forestry and hunting camps, which should be considered by the board. Furthermore, property owners on the roads expressed concerns about losing property value, higher maintenance costs, emergency access during storms and children’s safety waiting for school buses at the end of unplowed roads.
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