MINOT – Selectmen Monday night learned that the sealant applied to the town’s winter sand pile has failed.

“Cracks up to 2 feet wide opened up. I sent a slide show of pictures of the failed seal to the company in Nova Scotia today,” Road Manager Arlan Saunders said.

Saunders explained that the company, BPTrading, used a different solution than what was used to seal the pile for the past two years.

“The sealant probably didn’t adequately dry before the rain came. The previous two sealants were not perfect but were better than this,” Saunders said.

The sealant BPTrading applied to the Hebron sand pile has held up relatively well, according to Saunders. And while Monmouth’s pile has a problem, it is not of the same magnitude as Minot’s.

Saunders said the cracks allow water into the pile. The water freezes and clumps the sand together, making it difficult to handle. The water also, he noted, leaches salt from the pile, which in turn poses a danger to groundwater and the town’s well.

Saunders was at a loss to explain why the sealant failed.

“We put the pile up in September, a month earlier than usual. We did what they asked us to do,” Saunders said.

“I don’t really blame the company,” Saunders said. The sealant “just didn’t work.” He added that he is still holding the $3,800 bill for it.

Selectman Dean Campbell suggested Saunders consider stop-gap means to protect the pile, perhaps capping it with tarpaulins if it can be done without further damage to the seal.

Saunders said his crew started work on the hiking trail system and, with the first 650 feet done, he expects to complete the first phase of 2,300 feet this week.

Fire Chief Steve French reported that mutual aid turnout to a recent early morning fire in an unoccupied house on Pottle Hill Road had been excellent. French said there were no injuries but the building, which was undergoing renovations, was destroyed.

French also announced that, thanks to a safety enforcement grant, the department has safety vests and traffic cones intended for use at emergency scenes.

In other business, selectmen agreed to meet with the Land Use Ordinance Committee on Dec. 7 to review progress that committee has made aligning the town’s land use codes with the town’s new comprehensive plan. The committee is developing recommendations for changes in land-use ordinances that townspeople will vote on at March town meeting.