CANTON — The select board voted Thursday to authorize $36,557 to repair flood damage to Canton Mountain Road on June 30.

The money will come from the undesignated fund, which had $1.12 million as of June 30, 2022, according to the 2023-24 annual town report.

C.H. Stevenson Inc. of Wayne will do the work.

Unfortunately, the emergency disaster declaration issued for earlier spring storms did not cover Oxford County for the June 30 rainstorm, Selectman Rob Walker said.

At the May 11 board meeting, Public Works Foreman Andy Conant discussed damage to Campbell and Meadowview roads, which were closed because of complete washouts.

Other damaged roads that have been repaired are Alden Hill, Staples Hill, Meadowview, Canton Mountain, Campbell and Bonney, Selectwoman Carole Robbins said Friday.

Campbell Road is open for traffic, however, the town will need to replace a culvert, she said.

In another matter, selectmen decided to schedule a conference call with Maine State Department of Environmental Protection representatives to decide the next steps for the elementary school on School Street that closed in 2005.

Selectwoman Kristi Carrier said a grant received last year from the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields program supported work done this year to evaluate asbestos and lead in the building. She said the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments is reviewing information about contaminants in the building and will help selectmen “figure out what the next step is.”

“We initially think we are tearing it down, but it has to be done in a certain way because there was lead and asbestos and a few other things found in the building,” Carrier said.

In other business, the board decided to advertise for bids to mow about 40 town lots on School and Pleasant streets. Bidding information will include a three-year contract with a per-hour billing rate, Chairman Brian Keene said.

“I looked at a couple (of the lots) just driving by, and I know there’s definitely one that will be wet, the second one probably, but a lot of the other ones look like they might be OK” for mowing,” he said.

Supporting Sponsor for Franklin Journal, Livermore Falls Advertiser, Rangeley Highlander and Rumford Falls Times.
Keeping communities informed by supporting local news. franklinsavings.bank