SUMNER – Selectmen at Tuesday’s meeting asked road commissioner Jim Keach to do a trial application of calcium chloride on two gravel roads.

Selectman Tom Standard, who has been researching the issue for the town, said the state recommends calcium chloride for its ability to maintain moisture in gravel roads, reducing the amount of dust that blows off the road.

“It saves you money in the long run because you don’t have to replace the gravel and the dust that blows away,” Standard said. It will cost the town $3,200 to purchase enough calcium chloride to treat two miles of gravel road.

Standard added that some sources said less than the recommended amount could be used, “but I think we’re wise to use the recommended amounts.”

Keach anticipates using the chemical on Valley Road and the back of Tuell Hill. Tuell Hill Road is “right out in the beating sun, and I lose so much out there,” he said. Because roads should be dry when calcium chloride is applied, Keach said he will probably wait until next June to treat the roads.

In other business, Town Clerk Susan Runes said she would like the town to purchase computer software from O’Donnell Associates, the firm that did the town revaluation last year. The integrated software includes all legal forms, the commitment book and tax bills.

“We’re constantly playing around with our programs,” Runes said. “I think it’s time that we get an integrated software package.”

The software costs $3,000, of which the town already has half in its accounts. A special town meeting will be needed to raise the remainder of the money. Although no date has been set for the meeting, Runes said she’d rather purchase the software this year than wait for the next town meeting. “If we think about it now, when we really need it, it’ll be up and running,” she explained.

Runes also distributed copies of the town’s budget to selectmen, Keach, and Fire Chief Bob Stewart, asking them to return it at their next meeting with a plan to cut $132,000, the amount she calculates the town will need to cut from the budget if the Palesky tax-cap initiative passes.

“We have an obligation to give our townspeople a fair assessment of what this means,” she said of the tax cap. “Do you not have any road maintenance in the summer? Do you have a fire department but not have any trucks?”

Selectmen will hold an informational meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27, on the repercussions to the town should the Palesky initiative pass. At that time, the board will share its ideas for reducing the budget and hear the concerns of residents.

“You can’t have your head in the sand and say, If it passes, we’ll deal with it,'” Runes told the board. “How are we going to deal with it?”