LINCOLN – A landowner off the Transalpine Road recently cut off town and county access to a communication tower on Fish Hill when he put a metal cable and padlock on the end of his Lion Hill Road.

Owned by Walter Libby, the private dirt road is the main route of access to the top of the hill. Town officials use the road to access the airport beacon located on the county’s tower and to perform maintenance on an emergency generator the town co-owns with the county and Penobscot Valley Hospital.

Libby hasn’t notified the town as to why he closed the end of the road, according to Town Manager Glenn Aho.

Libby could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

The Penobscot County Commissioners in February renewed a five-year lease with Libby allowing county officials access to the tower using his land, according to County Administrator Bill Collins. The county has had a similar agreement with Libby since the 1980s and it intends to honor the new agreement, although the barred access could be a hindrance in emergency situations, Collins said.

“Having to stop and wait to communicate with someone to unlock the cable – that presents a problem,” Collins said.

The problem could be avoided as long as Libby provided a key to the county for use among authorized individuals, Collins said.

However, with winter approaching, county commissioners are now concerned with future maintenance of the road, he said. The county’s contract with Libby has a clause stating the town will maintain the road, but the town never signed such a written agreement with Libby, Aho said.

State law allows town equipment to be used for Lion Hill Road’s upkeep as long as it serves a public purpose, Aho said. And for a number of years, the town has spent roughly $3,000 to $5,000 on plowing and maintaining the private road, he said.

But when the town moves its airport beacon to Lincoln Regional Airport in September, the town will no longer maintain the roadway, Aho said.

“Because of the expense … it makes sense to move [the beacon],” Aho said.

Collins said he planned to send Libby a letter reaffirming the written agreement that the road’s maintenance would not come at the county’s expense.

The situation likely will be discussed at the county commissioner’s meeting Tuesday morning in Bangor.