HARTFORD – Selectmen on Thursday approved the road commissioner’s plan to fix a drainage problem on Town Farm Road.
For more than a year, Sigrid Houlette and Kurt Margeson have been trying to get the town to remedy a problem with water draining across their property.
Last December their attorney, Dana C. Hanley, sent a letter to the town’s attorney, Geoffrey H. Hole, requesting that something be done to keep the road runoff from entering their property.
The solution proposed by Road Commissioner Alan McNeil would require Houlette and Margeson to give the town an easement for a water ditch just past their driveway. McNeil would be responsible for ensuring that the drainage not interfere with their septic system.
Board Chairman David Bowen said one selectman will visit the site with McNeil to approve the site of the drainage.
In other business, there was a General Assistance hearing before the board met Thursday night. Selectman and General Assistant Director Lee Holman held the hearing with no residents present.
Holman said the town had only three cases last year that needed aid. One was for heating, another for an electrical connection and one for food. She anticipates a greater need this year for heating oil.
Holman also gave a brief summary of the recent Oxford County Municipal Association meeting on sand and salt. Bowen asked what the state thought of using calcium chloride. Holman said pre-wetting the road salt with a calcium chloride solution makes it stick to the road five times better than applying it dry, greatly reducing the amount of salt used, thus saving the town money. It may also be a factor in deciding how large a salt-sand shed the town will need.
The Transfer Station will be closing for the season on Saturday, Nov. 5. The station handles bulky waste, tires, metal and other materials. Holman said officials are trying to work with the Buckfield/Sumner transfer station for taking their universal waste.
Norm St. Pierre informed the board that the town had received a grant of approximately $1,000 for a municipal flag pole and lamp.
The town gave approval for a mapping grant to be written to Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments by Judy Hamilton and Peggy Poskus.
SAD 39 asked that one selectmen serve on the School Budget Committee and that one serve on an ad hoc committee for future school planning. Bowen agreed to serve on the ad hoc committee. Holman and Selectman Hope McCabe will decide who will serve on the Budget Committee.
There were three road complaints on Pratt Hill, Berry and Darrington roads dealing with potholes.
There will be a public potluck supper on Friday, Nov. 4, at the Town Hall.
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