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Buckfield outlines multi-year paving plan, public-works fleet repairs and culvert upgrades
Summary
Manager reviewed roadwork schedule, recommended maintaining pavement funding rather than bonding, and described fleet maintenance choices that prioritize preventative repair over immediate vehicle replacement.
The Town Manager outlined a multi-year road plan that emphasizes maintaining annual paving funds to complete priority stretches rather than issuing bonds. The presentation identified specific projects (Paris Hill stretch, Bear Pond Road, Brock School Road segments) and noted that last year’s planned paving (approx. $469,000) is scheduled in the upcoming season.
Nut graf: Manager said the town will continue a “finish the through roads” approach that treats paving as an annual program; reducing yearly paving to offset taxes would slow progress on worn segments. The manager recommended keeping the current capital plan rather than borrowing to pay for pavement, after receiving community feedback that bonding was unpopular.
On fleet, the manager described a decision to defer buying a new public-works truck and instead fund preventive maintenance to extend existing vehicles’ life; that approach moves costs from capital purchase to maintenance for one year. The manager also discussed culvert replacement as ongoing work: the town installs initial driveway culverts (which then become the town’s responsibility) and has been replacing old metal culverts to avoid washouts; two recent FEMA-funded culvert upsizes were noted.
Ending: Manager said project sequencing will continue to rely on the road committee’s recommendations and that the select board may revisit bonding only if voters indicate support; the manager emphasized the operational trade-offs between preventative maintenance and replacement purchases.
