Two major road projects to be completed this year
By Caitlyn Kelleher

The bridge on Westminster Street, just beyond the driveway for Oakmont Regional High and Overlook schools, has been closed since a tractor trailer hit it during an accident this spring.

Only two road major road projects will get started this year, said Department of Public Works Director Don Ouellette on Tuesday when he met with Selectmen.

The selectmen gave Ouellette the go-ahead with the engineering work for the Ashby Road reconstruction because once the engineering work is completed the town can access a nearly $2 million state grant to repair the roads.

The engineering will cost about $58,000 plus the cost of replacing the culvert near Stowell Road where the edges of the road are crumbling.

"I really can't leave those barricades up, especially in the winter," Ouellette said.

The other project that Ouellette plans to work on immediately is the repair of the Westminster Street bridge, which has been closed since a tractor-trailer hit it this spring.

Ouellette said he expects to do most of the work to repair the bridge in-house.

The road will remain closed for an undetermined period of time because Ouellette said some of the supplies will take at least 30 days to order.

The repairs of the bridge are expected to cost between $65,000 and $70,000.

Town Administrator Kevin Paicos said the town is working to receive some money from the truck company's insurance company to cover the costs of repairs but he does not believe the entire cost of repairs will be covered because the bridge was in poor condition before the accident.

Ouellette also proposed other work he thought needed to be done with the FY08 road repair money from the state.

He wants to repair the drainage along Puffer Street and expects it to cost about $20,000.

"There is something that's not right there," he said.

The DPW director, who assumed the role this winter, said there needs to be a program for preventative maintenance. He wants to set aside $20,000 for crack sealing. He also plans to put a final layer of pavement on Harding Road.

Also on Ouellette's list of goals is the repaving of Route 12 and repairing the drainage issue near 100 Main St, which combined will cost more than $160,000.

"I don't see the last two happening this year," he said.

The money raised through the capital override of Proposition 2 ½ would have funded this work but the vote failed.

In other business:

+ Selectmen approved the use of the town roads by the runners in the Brian's Gift Road on Saturday, Sept. 29.

+ Paicos updated selectmen on the standing of the budget for the 2007 fiscal year saying that 97 percent of the expected revenue had been collected by June 1. He added that there are slight overages in overtime for the fire and highway departments.

Paicos warned there would be a structural deficit in the Water Enterprise fund this year because there isn't enough money in the water department's "savings account" to cover the deficit from this year.

The money will have to be taken from the town's free cash in the fall, he said.

"I don't know what the (Department of Revenue) is going to do later this year when we go in to set the tax rate when we have a deficit for the third year in a row," Paicos said.

Last year, DOR officials set the tax rate despite the deficit but warned that they wanted the situation improved. Paicos said the new water rate, which begins on July 1, will prevent a deficit next year.