KINGFIELD — Properties on the West Kingfield Road sustained significant flood damage during Tropical Storm Irene, but the problems didn’t disappear when the water receded.

On Monday night, selectmen discussed a plan to gather existing and potential stakeholders on Dec. 20 to find ways to finance repairs along the Rapid River before the ground freezes. Timber property owner Bayroot LLC has acreage that extends from the end of the West Kingfield Road toward Mt. Abram. Logging on the slopes has caused water from rain and snow to flood quickly into the Rapid Stream, which flows along a section of the town road.

Bayroot gave permission for the town to do work on its property, but the company doesn’t want to spend any money repairing the logging roads, according to Administrative Assistant Douglas Marble. Homeowners and camp owners pay taxes to the town, and the town needs to contribute to the cost of repairs, selectmen decided.

“We’re on the hook to pay the bill,” Marble said. “The ball’s in our court now.”

A gravel berm, which was meant to divert water away from properties, was washed away, he said, and the road’s shoulder has eroded to a 90-degree angle and will get much worse. The flooding also destroyed one camp and rerouted the Rapid Stream around another resident’s home.

“The West Kingfield Road is compromised, and residents who live there will continue to experience flooding,” Marble said

There are about a dozen seasonal camps in that area, Selectman Heather Moody said. According to an engineer’s estimates, the berm repair will cost $10,000 and the road shoulder repair will cost $25,000. The town is eligible for federal grant money but needs to provide 25 percent of those costs.

The Franklin County Farm Service Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture will accept the town’s application, and funding will be provided under the Emergency Forest Restoration Program to repair damage.

Funds also have been used to repair stream crossings, water bars and other conservation measures on access roads. Cost share assistance can be used to restore the area to pre-hurricane conditions only.

Selectmen instructed Marble to contact large landowners, including Linda Bean’s Camden Trust, Bayroot LLC, Plum Creek Timber, Wagner Forest Management and all smaller landowners affected by the flooding. They suggested meeting at 6 p.m. on Dec. 20 at Webster Hall to discuss ways to preserve land values for camp owners.

In other news, selectmen plan to meet with their newly hired Economic Development Director Rodney Lynch, who will be paid on a month-to-month basis. Both he and selectmen will have the option of canceling their contract with a 30-day notice.

Lynch’s primary goal will be to find funding for the town’s proposed projects. Lynch also will meet with the Road Reconstruction Committee to prepare for the Maine Department of Transportation’s plan to improve downtown access and congestion. The town will be required to pay for any extra construction for granite curbs or street lights not in the DOT plan.

The original Village Enhancement Committee has “pretty much fizzled out,” according to Marble. Selectmen could recruit new members, but most of the proposed work will be the DOT’s road work through the center of town.

The selectmen-appointed Village Enhancement Committee’s plan doesn’t have enough detail, according to Marble, so Lynch will have to work with the committee and selectmen to apply for grants to pay for details not covered by the DOT.

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