Acton Road Committee Meeting
November 26, 2018
Committee Members Present: Cindy Hart, Chuck Gregory, Leslie Berlan, Jay Ward, Brendan Meehan. Also present Select Board member Elise Miller. Eight citizens in audience.
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Meeting opened with the Salute to the Flag at 5:00
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Motion by Jay Ward to accept the minutes of the November 12, 2018 meeting, second by Cindy Hart and passed by committee.
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Discussions
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Road Issues
1) Flat Ground Road is being plowed by the town.
a. Flat Ground Road status as a town road is still unresolved after the initial reading of the warrant article. Elise Miller reported that there is a petition being circulated to make it a town road. This issue will be on the BOS agenda.
b. Allocations to finish Flat Ground Road will be voted on at Special Meeting 11/26.
2) Cindy Hart is working on getting a meeting date with a representative of the State Department of Transportation to compare the state road map with the E-911 map. Elise Miller will share a copy of the listing of all Acton town roads from Jennifer Roux.
II. Bridges/Culverts
1) Rowe Bridge -
a. No information about the engineering proposals. Elise Miller will check on the status and report back.
b. BOS are waiting until the new road commissioner begins to complete the Rowe Bridge guard rails.
2) Canal Bridge -
a. Reviewing the Wakefield plans, the project is estimated to cost $895,000 which Acton may be responsible for one half of the cost. Questions about the shared responsibility of the bridge were discussed. Cindy Hart provided a letter from 2007 which was shared with BOS. Some believe that the division is not 50/50 and that some legal research would be advisable. Also, the BOS should check that there is adequate signage on the Acton side of the bridge for warning weight limits.
b. There has not been any timeline from Wakefield for beginning the project but the belief is that it was number two on their priority list.
3) Discussion about the need to begin a fund for future culvert and other road work for major projects. BOS are looking into proposing the fund for the next Acton budget. Very important to build up a fund for engineering reports which can be used to apply for federal and state grants.
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Winter Services
1) North Lebanon Road update. Shapleigh has responded that they would be unable to plow the Acton owned section. BOS will ask the new road commissioner to ask Sanford if they would be able to plow that section of road.
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General
1) BOS agrees with Road Committee to propose a line item road budget that looks at all town roads rather than by districts and allocate funds as needed.
2) Town should monitor budgets using actual expenditures vs. budgeted amounts. Town should have the ability to look back at historical information based on designating expenses by type.
3) Road committee would like the opportunity to meet with BOS, treasurer, road commissioners, and Jennifer Roux to discuss the accounting of road expenditures. Elise Miller will get a meeting scheduled.
4) Discussion about the posting of Road Commission minutes.
Motion to adjourn at 6:30 pm
The goal of the Road Committee (members from the BOS, Road Commissioners and Road Committee) is to provide the people of Acton with a road maintenance plan that is Efficient, Thoughtful and Economical.