Chichester Road Advisory Committee
Meeting Minutes
December 12th, 2011
At the Chichester Town Hall
Present: Doug Hall (Chairman), Dave Dobson, Jim Plunkett (Road Agent), Stan Brehm, John Amsden, Richard DeBold(Selectman), Allen Mayville
Absent: Tom Jameson, Terry McCormack
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A meeting was publicized and held at which the public was specifically invited to review the
2011 Draft Report of the Road Advisory Committee. Copies of the report were available.
Chairman Hall opened the meeting at 7:05 PM.
Chairman Hall welcomed those attending and asked if there were any questions regarding the Report.
Mark and Lynn Desjardins, 14 Fredwood Drive spoke several times throughout the evening concerning the plan to rebuild the structure under Fredwood Drive, add underdrain and leave the road as a gravel road with the stated objective of paving the road in the future. Their strong desire was to leave the road as a paved road. They were concerned the affect this plan would have on their taxes, the resulting dust and the fact that they both much preferred a paved road. Mark Desjardins was in possession of documents relating to the original development and construction of the roads in that area. He indicated he would make those documents available to the RAC (Road Advisory Committee). Discussion throughout the evening continued as to different ways the road could be fixed without resorting to a gravel road.
It was suggested that the bad spots in the road could be fixed, and that shimming could be done on the bad spots only. Since there have been incidents of the plow trucks breaking through the road surface it was suggested that a smaller truck could be used to do the plowing instead of the larger heavier trucks.
Richard Moore, 21 Fredwood Drive spoke (as a resident) in support of the comments made above. He too was very much in favor of leaving the road as a paved road. He reiterated most of the points made above. He voiced a concern regarding “fixing the underlying structure in 2012 and paving it in some future year”.
The response from the RAC was that the roadbed is in very poor condition (witness the incidents of large trucks breaking through the road) and that the work proposed would rebuild the underlying structure of the road, remove water and prepare the road for future paving. The committee felt that the funds necessary to fix the underlying structure and to pave the road would not be approved by the Townspeople at Town meeting. It was also noted that a gravel road would not reduce the property value of a residence.
Jeff Jordan (selectman) voiced a concern that Canterbury Road has been put forth in two recent Town meetings and is not planned for any work in the current plan. The committee responded that the prime reasons for this are 1) the denial of warrant articles for Canterbury road in recent town meetings and 2) the belief that the worst section of the road, which is maintained by the state, is not appearing in any plan by the state to be fixed. The committee feels that the entire road should be fixed at once time which will require action by the state.
Richard Moore (as the chair of the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) noted that the work done by the RAC in terms of the breadth and depth of the 2011 Report of the Road Advisory Committee will be very well received by the CIP and that the CIP committee looks forward to the expected additional detail in the coming year(s).
Various members of the RAC thanked the members of the public and town and committee officers attending the meeting. The Desjardins thanked the committee for their work and for the opportunity to speak to the committee. The general feeling was that an honest exchange of ideas throughout the meeting.
There was discussion amongst the RAC committee as to continuing the meeting to discuss the comments made or to wait for our next regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, January 9th, 2012 at the Highway Garage.
Motion to adjourn by Stan Brehm, seconded by John Amsden.
Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:30 P.M.
Respectfully Submitted,
John Amsden
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