BUCKFIELD — Selectmen got advice Tuesday night on road maintenance and a computer program that assesses pavement conditions and generates a prioritized list of recommended procedures and costs.

Ned Connell of Lebanon, N.H., explained the Road Surface Management System from the Technology Transfer Center at the University of New Hampshire. The computer program gives communities the ability to perform simple pavement condition assessments, input the data and assessments into the RSMS software, and create a priority list of recommended maintenance procedures and their cost, according to the UNH website. A 10-year maintenance schedule is produced, along with an associated budget.

Connell said good roads require proper drainage, regular maintenance and a budget for capital improvements.

Selectman Martha Catevenis said she would like to see a plan for some major work.

“I want to show the townspeople that we are doing our due diligence for roads.”

Connell said it’s better to think in terms of a 20-year plan.

“How good is good enough?” he asked. “Can you plow the road?” That’s one indicator, he said.

Dale Eichorn asked for a definition of ‘good enough.’

“If you can drive the road and not lose your muffler, is that good enough?” she asked.

Eichorn and several others who live in on Cummings Road said they were not happy with the condition of the road.

Connell said it might best to grind it up and make make it gravel.

He gave the board a list of Buckfield roads he deemed to be the best and worst.

Board Chairman Warren Wright said the roads are hard on school buses and plow trucks.

Town Manager Dana Lee said the issues would be on the Road Committee’s meeting agenda.

In other business Tuesday, Tyler Belanger was appointed public works foreman.

Lee said he interviewed four applicants and some lived too far out of town and didn’t want to relocate. Belanger has been with Buckfield eight years, knows mechanics and the roads, and is very dependable.

Lee got the go-ahead to advertise for a third public works employee.

The board accepted new guidelines for public participation at its meetings. They include:

* People can speak at any time during meetings.

* Time may be limited because meetings will end at 8 p.m.

* The chairman can stop a speaker who is abusive or makes personal attacks.

The board voted to take money from the fund balance to cover an overdraft in the Public Works budget to buy a truck transmission.

Judy Berg spoke on the RSU 10 withdrawal hearing set for Tuesday, April 9, at the Municipal Building. She presented the petition to the town clerk, who presented it to the board March 18.