PARIS — The Snow Hoppers snowmobile club is asking for help from the town to replace a 22-year-old bridge.
The 212-foot wood and steel suspension bridge spans the Little Androscoggin River near the town gravel pits and is part of snowmobile and ATV trail systems. A sign on the bridge says that it was built by the club in 1987.
Peter Bickford, vice president of the club, told selectmen Monday that the bridge is stable but in need of a “major upgrade.” He asked for $20,000 to be put aside from a recreation fund to go toward the engineering and construction of a new bridge.
“It really needs to be bigger, but the most urgent thing is replacing the supports,” said Mark Stearns, treasurer of the X-Tra Mile ATV club and former president of the Snow Hoppers.
Stearns estimated that replacing the bridge will cost $90,000. He said that 1 percent of the gas tax goes toward a Department of Conservation grant fund, and the club is entitled to up to $72,000 from that fund. The club is asking that the balance be paid for by a town account that collects fees from subdivisions that do not provide open space.
Interim town manager Michael Thorne said Tuesday that the account has approximately $35,600. Planning Board Chairman Robert Kirchherr said that under a subdivision ordinance passed earlier this year, the proposed use of the fees is at the discretion of the selectmen.
Bickford and Stearns both said they would like to replace the bridge, though Stearns said the existing bridge could also be shored up for about half of the estimated replacement cost.
Selectmen unanimously voted to put the question before voters on the next town meeting pending approval by town attorney Geoffrey Hole. The next scheduled special town meeting is on Dec. 3.
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