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Residents press town on road repairs and a foreclosed property; board begins process to discontinue Robinson Road
Summary
At public comment residents complained about recent gravel work that they say filled ditches and damaged shoulders; the board also authorized staff to begin the formal process to consider discontinuing Robinson Road after a resident said the lane functions as a private driveway.
Several residents pressed the Select Board on April 28 over recent road work and the condition of a foreclosed property, and the board authorized staff to begin the formal process to consider discontinuing Robinson Road after a request from an abutter.
Resident Roger Wilcox told the board heavy trucks recently laid what he said was unnecessary gravel on local shoulders, filling ditches and creating safety and drainage problems. “The problem with putting all that gravel on this road where it doesn't need it, it pushes out and it fills in the ditch and the water has no place to run,” Roger said, adding that soft shoulders left equipment stuck and that the work should have waited for drier conditions.
Town staff acknowledged the complaints and said culvert work and final overlays on Island Road would address some shoulder and drainage issues; they also explained the limits of immediate enforcement and noted foreclosed properties often require negotiation or court steps before cleanup can be done.
Later in the meeting a resident (one of the abutters) asked the board to initiate a discontinuance of Robinson Road, saying the road “is essentially our driveway” and that maintaining it themselves would feel fairer than continued municipal maintenance. The town manager outlined the statutory discontinuance process, which includes notifying abutters and holding public hearings; the board voted to authorize staff to draft and send the required abutter notification and begin the formal process. One board member recused themself from that vote.
In other road-related business the board discussed capital road funding and whether to reduce the upcoming year’s appropriation to mitigate a school-driven tax increase; members asked staff to prepare bond and reduced-appropriation scenarios for voters.
The town will pursue the discontinuance process for Robinson Road under state procedures and will return to the board with results of abutter outreach and proposed hearing dates.
