Selectboard approves cemetery mapping contract, $825,000 road contract, tax abatement and several town purchases

The Norridgewock Selectboard approved a series of contracts and administrative items at its April 1 meeting, including cemetery records mapping, a major road contract, a property tax abatement and a purchase to digitize permitting and enforcement records.

The cemetery committee requested authorization to sign a mapping and records digitization contract. Manager Richard Leel told the board the year‑one cost is $8,750 with recurring annual costs of $2,250, and said the committee would fund year‑one from its reserve and operating accounts. The board voted to accept the contract so staff and volunteer groups can begin mapping Old Oak, Upper Main Street Cemetery and Sunset Cemetery.

On public works, bids for the long‑deferred Bigalow Hill Road paving project came in with a low alternate bid from Bard Excavation of $825,000 and a high bid of $1,274,000. The board accepted Bard’s low alternate bid and agreed to proceed, noting that federal rivershed funding will cover the project and that locking the lower bid made sense amid rising asphalt and fuel costs.

The board also approved a tax‑abatement request stemming from an evaluation error on a parcel that should have been enrolled in tree growth; the assessor recommended a one‑year adjustment producing a tax abatement amount of $5,561, which the board approved. Manager Leel explained the underlying assessed value changes and the statutory limits that apply when filing windows have passed.

For digital administration, the board authorized $3,300 in year‑one funding to procure permitting and code‑enforcement software that will integrate with the town GIS and allow mobile documentation of violations, permits and property history. Supporters said the system will streamline case documentation and reduce staff time spent compiling court evidence and notices.

Other actions: the board scheduled a public hearing for two junkyard applications at 346 Walker Road, approved annual committee appointments (including the airport advisory and parks committees), authorized ATV use on town roads with instructions to coordinate signage and speed postings with the sportsman’s association, accepted a recreation director job description for posting, and confirmed the sheriff’s office had no objection to a planned sportsman’s event.

What’s next: staff will proceed with contract signings, post the recreation job, notify junkyard abutters and coordinate signage for ATV season before the May 1 opening. The TIF committee will also be asked to review guideline wording after the TIF decisions earlier in the meeting.

Sources: Selectboard meeting transcript, April 1, 2026.