MASON TOWNSHIP — Tyler Road is the property of Oxford County now.

The county commission gathered at the disputed road Tuesday to answer residents’ questions about what the recent taking by eminent domain will mean. They held a public hearing at 1 p.m at the end of the maintained portion of the road and afterward voted unanimously to take the road.

The taking was the end of a long dispute with two landowners who said the county had long ago abandoned Tyler Road, and that improvements on the portion running through their property was an infringement of their property rights.

The county had approved road improvements because the U.S. Forest Service had purchased land farther down the road for timber sales, and logging trucks would need to get down the worn road.

County Administrator Scott Cole explained plans to expand the dirt road to 14 feet wide. He said there will be work on culverts, and a 200-foot section will be moved southward away from the stream that had begun to erode the road.

Residents had concerns about the work schedule, and how long the work could last.

“I don’t believe there’s any attempt to shut down the road for weeks on end,” Cole said. He said the county would notify residents when culvert installation began.

Residents also expressed concern that a planned turnaround on the road would become a parking place for people with snowmobile trailers.

Reginald Gilbert of the U.S. Forest Service said logging companies would take out three to five-year contracts to cut on the land once road work was finished.

The county will pay landowners Celina Adams and Cameron Wake about $5,000 for the 1.5 mile section running through their property.

In the settlement agreement, the county agreed to limit the width of the road to 14 feet, plus two turnouts. The county also agreed to pay $5,000 to compensate the couple for title research and survey work they paid before filing the lawsuit. Wake and Adams had hired the surveyor to prove the county had abandoned the road under Maine statute.

Other people and corporations that own 11 parcels along the contested portion of road will also receive payouts for their property totaling $19,154, including Wake and Adams’ land payout.

Adams and Wake were present at the hearing.

“The eminent domain and the compensation for the landowners validates our position,” Adams said.

treaves@sunjournal.com

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