LIVERMORE — Residents voiced concerns regarding road maintenance procedures and plans during Tuesday’s Select Board meeting.

Questions were raised regarding the nomination process for road repairs, seeking insights into how roads are selected for maintenance.

“We do it through the road committee, they make a recommendation,” Chairman Mark Chretien said. “The road committee is open to the public. We try to get each plow route driver better roads. We try to be equal around town.”

Selectperson Scott Richmond emphasized the importance of equitable distribution of maintenance efforts, stating, “If one plow guy has all the rotten roads, he will take four and a half hours to do his route and beat up the truck and plow.”

“So, the last few years we have taken the worst section of road in town, which was the south end of the River Road and we fixed that,” Richmond said. “What we have been trying to do is rebuild for two years and the third year we don’t do a complete rebuild so we can get more roads done, which is what we are doing this year. That is why we are doing this new culvert for Norton Road; it is the next worse road in town.”

The discussion then turned to specific roads nominated for repair, with residents inquiring about the status of Shackley Hill Road.

Richmond assured residents that Shackley Hill and Butter Hill roads were among the priority areas for repair this year due to the deteriorating conditions. He explained, “It has been so long since it has been done because there were a bunch of years where they didn’t do anything, there is almost no tar left.”

Richmond said they have to do something to those roads, so they can continue to plow them. “There is no gravel underneath them, you have to do the minimum amount of work to those roads we are doing this year, and we still have to put the top coat on 2 miles of River Road because that hasn’t been done yet,” he explained.

“We went out on every road in town, and we came up with a plan for the worst sections,” Richmond said. “We then look at how much money we have, when work can we get done. It is not just that we pull it out of air.”

Chretien said, “It is $475,000 to do a mile of road.”

Residents expressed concerns about the allocation of resources, particularly questioning why certain roads were prioritized over others.

Chretien reiterated the need for equitable distribution, saying, “You have to figure, if the road is that bad, the plow cannot make it up the hill. So, you can’t just say only four people live on that road. They all pay taxes, just like everybody in town.”

Richmond provided insights into the extensive planning involved in road maintenance, highlighting the limited budget and the need for strategic prioritization. “We replace culverts and replace trees when we do a complete rebuild,” he said.

One resident complained that residents turn a road into a raceway once the road is finally repaired.

Chretien agreed saying, “Every time you do a road, it is a raceway.”

Richmond said River Road is almost bare tar. He said it costs a lot of money to rebuild it and then speed goes up, but it actually saves money in the long run because less sand and salt is needed. “We try to get as much as we can for what we have got for money,” he said.

Chretien said, “When a road keeps washing out, you have do something to it.”

The meeting concluded with a recognition of the challenges posed by aging infrastructure and limited resources.

Chretien said, “They kicked the can down the road too long; they wanted to spend $2.3 million in 2003 and do all the roads.” He said, now, the price tag is closer to $25 million. “If they would have done that back then, we would be in a lot better shape.”

The next Select Board meeting is June 18.