BUCKFIELD — The Select Board voted unanimously Tuesday to deny a landowner permission to plow part of Railroad Bed Road in the winter so she could build a driveway for a planned structure on the property.
Lisa Driver purchased 42 acres last year off Morrill Street near the high school and bordering Railroad Bed Road. The road is part of a former railroad bed and is drivable in the summer but is not plowed in the winter. It is also part of the state’s ITS snowmobile trail network.
The board noted that the property is not landlocked, with access to Morrill Road, which is also state Route 140. Using Morrill Road would require a longer, more expensive driveway, said Town Manager Lorna Nichols, who recently met with Driver.
Chairwoman Cheryl Coffman said she was sympathetic about the longer driveway but was concerned with the precedent this could create. Allowing private plowing could lead to safety issues on the snowmobile trail and expose the town to potential liability.
The board unanimously denied the request 5-0.
In other business, the board remains dissatisfied with the accounting firm Ron L. Beaulieu & Co. of Portland for not providing further clarification and explanation of two invoices totaling more than $12,000 for auditing and non-auditing services. The town paid $7,900 before receiving the unexpected bills.
The board said their request for more information has fallen on deaf ears. Particularly troubling was the large amount of money charged under the category “other,” which carried no explanation.
“I don’t feel comfortable using public funds to pay for something that we don’t know what it is,” Selectman Cameron Hinkley said.
Selectman Mike Iveson, who has urged taking a hard line on requiring a satisfactory explanation before the town pays the bill, recommended that Beaulieu be invited to a board meeting so he could explain the invoices to the public.
The board unanimously passed that motion.
Hinkley and Nathan Corson were appointed to two-year terms on the Recreation Committee. The board also approved designating the chairman and vice chairman as additional signatories on the town’s accounts.
Following an executive session, the board instructed the Planning Board to review the subdivision ordinance.
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