FARMINGTON — Franklin County commissioners voted Tuesday to start the process to discontinue Cherry Hill Road as a county road in Washington Township.

The road is closed to winter maintenance. The only year-round resident has been plowing and maintaining it.

There is one house and a couple of camps on the road, Commissioner Chairman Terry Brann said.

A logging company also plows a section to get to a woodlot.

“It is not uncommon for private citizens to volunteer to plow a closed road at their own expense in order to use the road for logging or some other purpose,” according to information county Clerk Julie Magoon provided from  Maine Municipal Association’s website.

MMA recommends a municipality not allow that for liability reasons, she said.

“The reason for this advice is that a plowed road may appear open and safe to passersby, when in fact it is poorly plowed and hazardous to travel,” according to MMA. “The municipality would likely be sued in the event of an injury, and even if not liable it would incur legal fees in defending itself. The safe approach is to disallow closed roads to be privately plowed.”

Magoon will contact the county’s attorney to begin the process to discontinue the road, which will include a public hearing, she said.

In other business, commissioners put off more discussion on a dispute over a contract awarded to the low bidder for substance abuse and mental health services for inmates at the county jail. The county’s attorney had a family emergency and could not review the request for proposals and the proposals received.

Commissioners heard on Jan. 7 from Bert Poisson, a co-owner of Western Maine Behavioral Health in Wilton, who disputes the contract award in December to Clearwater Counseling and Consulting in Farmington. The latter agency was low bidder at $30,000 from Jan. 1 to June 30. Western Maine’s proposal was $36,012.

Poisson previously said Clearwater Counseling and Consulting of Farmington did not meet the criteria in the county’s request for proposals. He said his price would be lower if he did not comply with criteria requested.

Dalene Sinskie, owner of Clearwater Counseling and Consulting, said her proposal met the requirements.

Commissioners also said on Jan. 7 that they wanted to wait until Jan. 21 to discuss the matter when jail administrator, Maj. Douglas Blauvelt, and Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. were able to attend. Blauvelt and Nichols had reviewed the proposals prior to making a recommendation to commissioners.

In other matters, commissioners voted to take no action on a property tax abatement appeal application. The town of Phillips denied Fadel Al-Ajam’s request for 2019.

The town assessed his property at 18 Small Road at $155,300. He believed the valuation should have been $100,ooo, according to his appeal.

Magoon said she read it and found no comparable properties presented in the appeal package.

In other business, Magoon said interviews for several candidates for dispatchers and one for a patrol officer for the Sheriff’s Office have been done. She expects candidates will be presented at the Feb. 4 commissioners meeting.

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