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Jackson Selectmen
Highway Work Session
August 9, 2012
Present: Jerry Dougherty IV, Chairman; John Allen and Bob Thompson, Selectmen
Visitors: Road Agent Jay Henry, Beatrice Davis, Bob Davis
Chairman Jerry Dougherty called the work session to order at 4:40 p.m.
Road Agent Jay Henry is here to discuss the Highway budget; just trying to get caught up blows the budget. Chairman Dougherty noted this Work Session is mostly to inform Selectmen Allen and Thompson as he has already had extensive discussion with Road Agent Henry.
- Road Paving Road paving is the biggest item; the town has done a bunch of reclaiming on Tyrol; by spending extra on reclaiming and paving, Jackson is behind on maintenance of its roads; if the Selectmen want to keep the roads rough then status quo will be okay; Whitney’s Hill will be in terrible shape; Carter Notch has the logging trucks on it; Thorn Hill should be reclaimed to get the profile back; it’s heavily traveled; he and Chairman Dougherty have talked about shimming versus reclaiming; Jackson should skip reclaiming on Thorn Hill and do a shim; which is what was done on Wilson Road; a reclaim on Thorn Hill will put the other roads back. To get caught up-to-date the town needs to put more money into road paving than it has over the past few years. Selectman Thompson asked
what reclaiming is; it is a process that grinds the road surface down and then it is hot topped. The most expensive option is to do a box cut and that is out of the question. The in-between option is to reclaim to re-profile the road. The other advantage to reclaiming is when they apply sand and oil the truck traffic causes it to slides. Road Agent Henry also wants to see how the reclaim on Tyrol works over five years. Reclaiming will not provide a new road; it’s halfway between shimming and a proper fix. Reclaiming at $200,000 is way less than a box cut while shimming would be $60,000 – $70,000. Reclaiming is supposed to last twenty years while a box cut lasts thirty years; shimming would need to be done every five to ten years. The bridge up to Selectman Allen’s was done in ‘08; it’s still good but vehicle traffic is squatting it; Switchback Road is just starting to crack again; Road Agent Henry has no
experience regarding how long it lasts. Jackson Highlands has to have some pavement or he won’t be able to plow it too; paving is going to be about $250,000 and if more is approved then he could either put more money on the Highlands or try to do some of the side roads on Tyrol; he is leaning towards leaving Tyrol for 2014. For 2013 he could get caught up and set a schedule for paving. It is Road Agent Henry’s job to tell the Board what needs to be done. Chairman Dougherty noted with such a large increase, he’s looking at Jackson’s Unreserved Fund; it is way higher than recommended; the Selectmen could decrease that by $300,000 – $400,000 and still be around 15%. While unsure of the exact amount, the Fund is at least $785,000; in contrast, Conway’s Unreserved Fund is $230,000 and they have a forty million dollar budget; that means Jackson has overtaxed the people by that much; the Board could use that to offset taxes
and to ease the tax rate increases; an increase to cover such a large increase in paving would not be palatable for Jackson’s taxpayers. Road Agent Henry feels $300,000 would allow him to also do North Hampton Ridge and Highlands; the roads in Jackson are generally in good shape. By 2014 all of Dundee should be done. The idea of floating a bond is not something he wants to pursue; it makes no sense to take a twenty year commitment for paving that won’t last that long. Selectman Thompson noted the logical course would be to ask the voters to contribute $25,000 to the Highway Fund and pull $200,000 out of the Unreserved Fund to supplement the Heavy Equipment and Paving Fund. Chairman Dougherty will talk to Treasurer Schomaker about the Unreserved Fund as Jackson has to have a tax note at least twice a year. Road Agent Henry noted his overall budget is okay but he’s out of paving money.
- Grader Replacement The grader needs to be replaced; he’s leaning towards not buying a new one however he wants the Board to understand the grader is the most cost-effective piece of equipment the town has; the town puts $200,000 into trucks that are traded every ten years; the town gets thirty years out of the grader. He needs the grader to push snow on the hills; without it he can’t do the hills. It’s cheaper over a long period of time but he doesn’t think a new one could be swung; it will be $330,000 for a new one with the plow set-up. Renting a grader would cost $10,000 a month. Road Agent Henry has seen some pretty nice used ones for $150,000 – $200,000 but he’s not sure he wants to spend $200,000 on a used grader when
$330,000 will buy a new one. If Jackson gets a newer one that is more dependable when the time comes to trade the next truck the town won’t need three big four-wheel drive trucks; the town could have one two-wheel drive truck and save money, as that will be better to run all summer. Selectman Thompson asked if Road Agent Henry fixed the grader and Road Agent Henry noted the radiator was removed and is in Gorham to be fixed. This grader is an off-brand; if the town had a CAT or John Deere he’d be able to get parts but when the town buys from a company that’s not in business it makes getting parts impossible unless he goes to Poland. The town put $10,000 into the grader last year; he wants this for the 2013 budget; he doesn’t think $150,000 is a bad investment. Currently the town puts $25,000 into the Heavy Equipment Fund each year; it would take ten to twelve years before the Fund would have enough at the current price and the
price of the grader increases at least $10,000 every year. A Warrant Article needs to come forward to pull $100,000 out of the Unreserved Fund for the grader; if the people decide they don’t want to pay for this and the town doesn’t need it then he won’t pursue this; the town has a grader but it’s not reliable. Road Agent Henry hadn’t wanted to replace the radiator but knows that the grader will break when he needs it most; he’s spending $2,000 – $3,000 to put in the radiator. If something happens to the final drives of the transmission the town will get a junk price for it but if the grader is traded now Jackson could get $20,000 – $30,000 for it.
- Maintenance to Town Property Road Agent Henry noted Office Administrator Falcey will back him up on this; money is always tight; stuff is always coming up that needs to be done; there are plenty of places that need loam; the ballfield needs repair; now the Library wants lighting; there’s always something that breaks that he has no money for. The amount put towards this needs to be boosted; there’s nothing in there for emergencies so he always has to juggle. Chairman Dougherty noted last year the Board added $20,000 for the mower and that comes out of the 2013 budget; the Board could take out the $20,000 and theoretically lower the tax rate but if Road Agent Henry is looking to raise money it could stay in. Road Agent Henry noted he can’t guess if $20,000 will
do it; Jackson now has the Library constantly asking for stuff; the garage needs stuff, too; there’s more mowing; his guys put a coat of paint on the old salt shed and painted the gazebo; one-hundred gallons of paint add up. The Fire Department was painted five years ago and the Fire Association paid for that but it won’t be long before the sun is going to peel it off. Bea Davis suggests if the Library wants lights they should budget for it. Road Agent Henry noted the Library Trustees are saying the Library is a town building. Selectman Thompson pointed out there’s a safety issue with folks walking out to the lower parking lot after dark. Bea reminded the Board when the Library was being built the Trustees didn’t have money for water so the town paid for it; then the town expended money for the furniture; they need to get their priorities straight; the Town Hall looks great and that used no taxpayer money. Chairman
Dougherty thinks a separate article will be put on the Warrant next year for this. Bea noted the Conservation Commission put the gazebo up; they should pay for painting it. Bob Davis reminded the Board the Conservation Commission gets all the money from Prospect Farm and the wood cuts; they have enough money for paint.
- Must continue with capital reserve for new truck This is on the agenda just to emphasize that the Capital Reserve Fund needs to be continued.
- Sidewalk Paving The sidewalk on Route 16 is in tough shape; it needs a coat of pavement from the Wildcat Garage to the Covered Bridge; it will take $12,000 – $16,000 to do this. It took $12,000 for the walkway at the Town Office; he feels $16,000 would be high since Jackson does its own flagging; he believes that will need a separate article.
- Dundee Road – Coat of gravel Dundee Road is in good shape now; it should get another coat of gravel next year; three inches over the whole thing will be $13,000. Every year a dirt road loses at least two inches of gravel just from use. Last year at Town Meeting folks were told he was asking for these funds due to Hurricane Irene and he would be asking for more next year.
- Knotweed Spraying Road Agent Henry doesn’t know if it is worth putting $5,000 into spraying knotweed when it won’t be dead. Selectman Thompson missed the discussion regarding cutting it back and wants to know why that can’t be done; he was informed cutting it back doesn’t work; the knotweed grows right back; Phil Davies didn’t think it was the worst way to handle it though. Digging the weed spreads the juices. Basically, compared to the roads, this is a low priority.
- State Aid Road Paving Increase The State won’t increase their $20,000 aid; from Wentworth Road to Mulloon Hollow is all state road as is Five Mile Circuit to Mountain View and Christmas Farm; it’s a state road that Jackson plows. He wondered if the town should put more into that to try to boost those roads; they need it but he’s not sure if he’s for it; there are a lot of ways to look at it; if Jackson does nothing will the state say it won’t do anything and the town can have it; or does the town keep putting money in and everything all just rolls along fine. Last year the planned work didn’t happen due to Hurricane Irene; Jackson put its $20,000 on Highlands and Wilson Road and got nothing from the state. Jackson will always be behind if the
town doesn’t approve funds for paving; the town can keep going like it has been but then the roads will end up deteriorating. It would be nice to be able to put them on a reclaim schedule. Selectman Thompson would like to catch up on this but wants to avoid increasing the tax rate.
Road Agent Henry noted he’s given the Board something to think about; it will be nice to discuss this in September. Whatever the Board wants to do is fine with him. The Board will ask the voters how they want to fund it. Road Agent Henry has developed a list of priorities. (Chairman Dougherty left) Neither the Selectmen nor Road Agent Henry had any further questions or discussion. The Work Session adjourned at 5:24 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by:
Martha D. Tobin
Recording Secretary
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