Pittsfield mulls maintenance of gravel roads

PITTSFIELD – To bring all the town’s gravel and dirt roads up to standard and pave them would cost $894,000, town councilors learned Tuesday night from an engineer’s report.

“That is money we just do not have,” Town Manager Kathryn Ruth said.

But conducting the study is a valuable first step in a comprehensive approach to the problem of much-delayed improvements, she said.

With the study by Millett Associates of Hermon in hand, town councilors will make a plan this fall when budget discussions are under way. Some roads are projected to need just $21,500 in repairs, while others could take more than $315,000.

Councilor Wayne Fotter cautioned that the tax rate in Pittsfield has remained stable for the past three years and any major decision about fixing gravel roads will affect that rate.

“The options would range from prioritizing repairs and tackling a few to bonding the full amount,” Ruth said.

The study couldn’t have come quickly enough for Hussey Road and Estelle Street homeowners who appealed to the council Tuesday night for help.

Estelle Street is a private road and the town is barred by state law from spending any money or sending any equipment on that road, Ruth said. There are seven homes on the street with six more house lots available.

Ruth suggested that the homeowners form a road association to jointly plan and fund road improvements. The council asked, however, that Millett Associates make an assessment of what it would take to repair Estelle Street to give residents a starting point.

The council went one step further and asked Ruth to hire Millett Associates to assess all seven of the town’s private roads that have been requested by residents to be taken over by the town.

Hussey Road is a different situation, Ruth explained, because is a town-maintained road that needs to be rebuilt.

“We put several loads of gravel on it last fall,” Ruth said, “but the residents are right, the snowplows just push it off to the side.”

The Millett survey indicated it would take $180,000 to bring Hussey Road up to standard. “It is in poor condition with severe rutting,” the report states. It is ranked second on the priority list in the survey, which suggests removing the existing road base and replacing it with up to 2 feet of gravel over a textile base before paving it.

Hussey Road residents Crystal Neace, Charlene Dodge and Lawrence Wyman questioned why the town has not properly maintained the road over the years.

“We’ve gone all these years with promises,” Wyman told the council. “You never do it.”

“In order to do something, we need money,” Mayor Tim Nichols said.

“I get that,” Neace said, “but meanwhile, where do we go? Mud season aside, even when you can drive on the road it is horrible. Someone has to do something. The school bus won’t even come on our road. Where are my taxes going?”

Ruth explained that until the frost is out of the road, there isn’t much the town can do. “If we put material on the road at the wrong time, we can make it worse.”

In other business Tuesday, the council:

. Enacted an emergency management ordinance and appointed the fire chief as emergency management director.

. Contracted with the town of Palmyra for curbside pickup of recyclables for one year.

. Transferred $21,321 in reserve funds to construct a new salt shed.

. Transferred $1,4000 in reserve funds to repair the back entrance of the municipal theater.

. Awarded two contracts for picnic tables and paving at Stein Park.

. Signed the warrant for owners of 92 unlicensed dogs.