Regular Meeting (08-20-2018)
Selectmen Present: Suzan Rudnicki, John Luce, Douglas Small and Jared Fitts
Absent: Joshua Devlin
Town Manager/CEO: Kevin Howell
Recording Secretary: Coreen Sylvester
Guests Present: Sheriff Troy Morton, Lt. James Ellis, Deputy Kevin Haefele, Fire Chief Ralph Shaw, Barbara Veilleux, George Buswell, William Cichocki, Matthew Arnold, Representative Roger Reed, John Devin, Steve Thebarge, Sean Davis, Representative Stacey Guerin, Glennis McSorley, Toby Pelletier, Deanna Witham, Robert Noyes and Michael Dunton
7:30 PM: Suzan Rudnicki called the meeting to order.
MINUTES: Jared Fitts made a motion to accept the minutes of August 13, 2018 as amended. John Luce seconded. Four voted in favor.
NEW BUSINESS:
Route 69 Condition: Town Manager Kevin Howell explained he invited representatives from
the Department of Transportation and concerned citizens to discuss what may be done to improve the condition of Route 69 in Carmel. Route 69 is considered a State Aid road, which means the Town’s responsibility is winter snowplowing and sanding only. Kevin said he realizes that Steve Thebarge, John Devin and Sean Davis are all engineers and would much rather rebuild the road, but they do have mandated limitations based on the classification of the road which is priority four, the lowest of State road classifications.
Michael Dunton of R&R Lumber Co., which holds the snowplowing contract for Carmel, said he is the one who plows Route 69. The road is so rough and rutted that is difficult to plow and damages the plow and truck. Because of the deep ruts, the plow cannot reach all the snow. Then vehicles traveling the road hit the ruts and throw the snow back into the road.
Fire Chief Ralph Shaw said the condition of the road slows the response time down, and it is difficult for the EMT’s to stay steady in the back of the ambulance and work on the patient. Ralph also stated that in 2013 an emergency vehicle went off the road, and it was determined to be due to road conditions.
Matthew Arnold, Director of Transportation for RSU 87, said they fill an entire school bus just on the Route 69 run, and twice a year the driver of that bus brings him in a cup of bolts that have fallen out of the ceiling of the bus. Matthew stated none of his other drivers have that problem, and this bus also needs more repairs otherwise.
Deputy Kevin Haefele stated that over the past year as he monitors traffic around town, he has noticed that on Route 69 the cars go much more slowly and he can hear them banging and rattling. He also said he has noticed oil pans and other car parts on the side of that road.
Sheriff Troy Morton said that while he understands D.O.T. has limited funds, he recently drove over that road and it should be looked at because it’s very deteriorated.
Steve Thebarge, Regional Manager for D.O.T., said they have 8,800 miles of road to maintain and it is a prioritized road system: The interstate is priority one, Route 2 is priority three and Route 69 is priority four, partly because there are other roads in town that residents can use, including Route 2 and the interstate. The prescribed treatment for a priority four road is a light 5/8” skinny mix every seven years. Mr. Thebarge, John Devin and Sean Davis explained the roads are prioritized by Federal and State authorities. They only have so many resources, would have to pull money from other jobs and do not have the authority to do so. They have conceded to install a lift of shim this year, which was not in the plan. This will go a long way to resolve rutting and uneven pavement. Ditching will be done next year and final paving in 2020.
There was discussion with other guests including Deanna Witham and Billy Cichocki, both residents who live on Route 69, said they and all the residents who live on that road have no choice but to use Route 69, and it is horribly rough on their vehicles. Also, to get to the interstate in Carmel, you have to drive Route 69. Ms. Witham stated she drives her paving company’s trucks and it is an even rougher ride than in a passenger vehicle.
Robert Noyes, owner of R&R Lumber Co., said repairs on plow trucks are very expensive and the trucks used on Route 69 need more repairs than others. It also takes his drivers more time to plow Route 69 than any of the other roads in town.
Story Walk Boards: The Town Manager said the posts and boards are up for the story walk at the Rec Field and when the librarian is back from vacation, she will put the pages up.
Fuller Road Striping: Kevin stated that three years ago he looked into striping, and the striping company said they don’t do edge stripes without the striping line. He called the Local Roads Center, and they said the same thing. Then he found a manual that said you can do it if the road is wide enough, so on Fuller Road we can do just the double center line, just the edge lines or do nothing. The matter was tabled for now.
Ambulance: Jared Fitts asked if our ambulance is broken down. Kevin said it is in the shop for scheduled maintenance; with our contract with Capital we use a Capital ambulance when ours is down.
WARRANT: John Luce made a motion to accept the payroll warrant of August 20, 2018 in the amount of $4,968.28. Douglas Small seconded. Four voted in favor.
WARRANT: John Luce made a motion to accept the accounts payable warrant of August 20, 2018 in the amount of $30,830.53. Douglas Small seconded. Four voted in favor.
OTHER BUSINESS:
Wood Chips at Sand Shed: Kevin said there is a mountain of wood chips in the sand shed lot, and said he would like to offer it to residents. Selectmen had no objections.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Sue Rudnicki made a motion to go into executive session pursuant to 1MRSA § 405(6) (H) to consult with the Code Enforcement Officer on a pending enforcement matter. Jared Fitts seconded. Four voted in favor. Selectmen went into executive session at 9:26 pm. Selectmen reconvened in regular session at 9:50 pm. No action taken, informational only.
Dunham Junkyard Violation: John Luce made a motion to move forward with enforcement action against the junkyard violation at the property occupied by Steve Dunham at 852 Hampden Road. Jared Fitts seconded. Four voted in favor.
ADJOURNMENT: John Luce made a motion to adjourn. Doug Small seconded. Four voted in favor. Meeting adjourned at 9:52 pm.