TURNER — Selectmen on Tuesday met with Thomas M. Gibson, president of Rampart Bituminous LLC, to discuss cold-mix asphalt.
The town contracted with Rampart for 3,500 cubic yards of cold mix with 20 gallons of asphalt emulsion per cubic yard using town aggregate. After the pile had had time to settle, Turner measured the resulting pile at 2,648 cubic yards; Rampart measured it at 2,875 cubic yards.
Selectman Kurt Youland said they were not doubting that Rampart had fulfilled its contract, but selectmen had to resolve why the pile did not measure the full 3,500 cubic yards.
The town sent a sample to a certified laboratory which determined that the mix contained 3.4 percent asphaltic concrete by weight. Gibson said that was the proper AC content and was consistent with 20 gallons of emulsion per cubic yard. The emulsion was a mixture of water, asphaltic concrete and emulsifiers.
Gibson provided the town with receipts for the emulsion used. He said his equipment measures the weight of aggregate going into the mix, then adds emulsion at a rate to average 20 gallons per cubic yard. He said settling of the pile and errors in the scale could account for the discrepancy.
He maintained that since he had used the proper amount of emulsion at the prescribed rate, he had fulfilled the contract. Selectmen decided to pay for the measured amount of cold mix and to hold the remainder until they got information from the laboratory.
In other business:
* Leavitt requested permission to hire temporary help to work on road projects. She said the board’s reluctance to hire temporary help in the winter led to town employees accumulating significant comp time, which they are taking now.
Selectman Ralph Caldwell said it would be better to hire independent truck drivers to use their own trucks. Leavitt expressed concern about proper insurance with independent contractors.
* Leavitt pointed out that the electric system in the Town House was old and deteriorated. With tongue in cheek, Selectman Lawrence “Punk” House suggested they buy some kerosene lamps and forget about electricity. He went along with the other selectmen in asking Leavitt to obtain prices for redoing the electrical system.
* Selectmen expressed hope that residents would step forward to fill volunteer positions on the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Leavitt Institute Building Committee.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.