St. Albans pushes road maintenance

ST. ALBANS – Local road maintenance will get more attention in 2001, if voters support the selectmen’s budget proposal in March.

“The ‘Band-Aid’ approach to road maintenance is not something this board ascribes to,” Board Chairman Larry Emery said Tuesday. “We need a comprehensive plan for road maintenance.”

The board’s approach to road maintenance calls for increasing summer road maintenance to deal with road issues before they become larger problems. In addition, the board wants to see gravel roads upgraded to state specifications to avoid the problems encountered annually in mud season, Emery said. That approach will allow some roads to be added to the paving program where it makes sense, he added.

Emery also said the board would like to see the paving program altered to complete an entire road per cycle rather than in short annual increments.

Increasing road maintenance, funding the town’s share of a new paramedic director for the ambulance service, beginning a tax revaluation and funding a final share of a new fire utility truck will add about $118,000 to the 2001 budget. The increase adds about one-half mill to the tax rate, or 50 cents per $1,000 of property valuation after the overlay is added to the budget total. Without the overlay, the rate is estimated at $18.10 per $1,000 of valuation.

Upgrading three gravel roads in the special roads account was estimated at $60,000 in Town Manager Larry Post’s budget preparations. Adding improvements to Ballard Road will cost an additional $85,000, he said.

According to Emery, there are four roads in the special-roads account, including Ballard Road. He identified the other three roads as McNally, Philbrick and Rand Hill roads.

Ballard Road is a connector road and should be brought up to state standards, Emery said.

Post reported the Ballard Road work would add another 0.2 mills to the tax rate, an additional 20 cents per $1,000 of valuation.

An undecided issue in the 2001 budget is the town manager’s contract. The contract is still in negotiations, according to Emery. He would not elaborate on the details because of the ongoing discussions.

Post similarly would not comment on details.

Post has held the position for 22 years, winning a new contract annually with one exception. For 1992, 1993 and 1994, Post held a three-year contract, approved by the Board of Selectmen.

“I have every expectation that there will be another [annual] contract,” said Emery, explaining the delay in settling the contract. “There has been no discussion of not continuing the contract. I know a previous board tried to remove him. We’re not even thinking in those terms.”

Both sides came to the negotiations expecting a pay increase, but have not come to an agreement, Emery said.

“The board is proposing changes in the contract,” he said. “The manager has reacted to those changes and come back with some changes of his own. As soon as we reach a conclusion, it will be a public matter.”

The board did not sign Post’s 2000 contract until February of this year, Emery said. Post reportedly did not sign it until March.

Emery is hopeful the contract issue will be resolved at the Dec. 18 meeting of the board. Being a town manager is a difficult job, politically and administratively, Emery said.

“From my observation, Larry [Post] is a very knowledgeable public official,” the selectman said. “Over his years of service, he has done a good job for the town. I expect that will continue.”