LIVERMORE — The Board of Selectpersons on Tuesday voted to ask town attorney Lee Bragg to review a draft of a road easement ordinance that’s based on one from the town of Gray.

Earlier this year, town officials learned some of the roads receiving winter maintenance were private, which state law prohibits the town from working on. If the town continues to do so, it could be held liable.

The status of several other roads, considered to be have easements allowing the town to work on them, was not clear.

Legal staff at Maine Municipal Association said the easements are not legally binding, because specific roads were not identified at town meetings where votes were taken on them and easement information wasn’t included on property deeds.

Resident Brenda Merrill shared with selectpersons a few weeks ago a draft road easement based on Gray’s Street Ordinance.

Selectperson Tom Gould asked MMA staff to review it.

To create legally binding easements, Gould said the first step is a title search for each property. An easement for each property, recorded on the deed, would then be established. Those easements would be accumulated into a single easement that would be reviewed by the town attorney. A vote would then be taken at a town meeting to accept the road, clearly identified in the meeting minutes, for winter maintenance.  

Since then, Gould has spoken with Mary Dennison, a Winthrop attorney who does work with road associations. She told him a full title search may not be necessary for each property as long as the title is clear. She estimated a cost of $300 per resident, he said.

Gould said the town attorney told him notarization has to be done for all of the properties.

There are five roads in question: Bartlett Pond Road, Cozy Cove Road, Keith Street, Marcus Street and upper Richmond Hill Road.

There are 10 owners each on Cozy Cove and Marcus roads, and more than 20 on Keith Street, Gould said.

“The individual cost is reasonable, but the overall cost is still quite high,” he said.

Chairperson Mark Chretien asked about spending all that money and then voters not accepting the easement roads.

Gould said that is a risk.

Merrill said there should be one town meeting vote so the vote wouldn’t be stacked against any one road.

“MMA may not want to take a stand on the sample easement,” Selectperson Timothy Kachnovich said. “Our attorney could tell us what needs to be changed or say it’s OK.”

“If the town doesn’t accept these easements, school buses won’t be able to use Keith and Marcus (roads),” Gould said.

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