Selectmen back $900,000 for town road upgrades and $350,000 for River Street rebuild and water main replacement

The Board of Selectmen on Jan. 15 recommended a package of infrastructure warrant articles that together aim to address years of deferred maintenance on Wolfeboro streets and utilities. The board endorsed $900,000 for road upgrades and engineering, and a separate $350,000 article that would fund River Street rebuilding and a water main replacement within the first 300 feet of the street.

Public Works Director Steve Randall described the $900,000 program as the next phase of a multi‑year inventory‑based plan to repair and reclaim roads, address drainage, and finish municipal parking lots. "We have approximately 67½ miles of roads," Randall said, adding the work will include reclaiming sections of Sewell Road, topcoating subdivisions, and sealing Middleton Road to extend service life. The presentation cited earlier estimates that the town needs roughly $1.1–1.2 million annually to keep roads at parity.

The River Street article was presented as a complete‑streets project focused on the first roughly 300 feet to the rail‑trail crossing. Selectman Brad Harriman said $150,000 of that article will be drawn from the water enterprise fund for engineering and water main replacement to remove lead joints; the remaining $200,000 would cover sewer, stormwater and roadway work and be raised by taxation. "This also ties into some of the lead service assessment that we've been doing over the last year," Public Works staff said.

Why it matters: directors and selectmen said earlier reinvestment is needed to avoid higher future repair costs and to coordinate road work with water and sewer upgrades so new paving is not undone by later utility work. The Board recommended both articles 5–0.

Next steps: if voters approve the appropriations at the March 11 town meeting, the town plans design and bidding steps for 2025 construction seasons and continues coordination across water, sewer and road budgets.