Select Board and residents say town meeting signaled appetite for more road spending; board plans outreach and phased options

Select Board members and several attendees used the June 16 meeting to review lessons from the June town meeting, with most participants concluding that voters signaled greater support for substantial road spending than the board had anticipated.

Board members described surprise that many town meeting attendees appeared prepared to increase the roads budget well beyond current proposals. Speakers recommended earlier community outreach, including workshops that present option A/B/C budgets with explicit mill-rate impacts so voters understand trade-offs before the warrant is finalized.

Several board members urged working with engineering resources such as LJB to produce bid timelines and scope definitions so the town can prepare RFPs and contractors in advance of construction seasons. The manager and members noted that public works has been undertaking drainage and preservation measures to limit deterioration while larger funding and project plans are organized.

Public commenters and board members raised related concerns about private-road plowing, speed control and targeted improvements (for example, Pine Hill Road and Leech Hill). The board asked staff to draft a community engagement plan for roads and to return with a proposed schedule for outreach, RFP timing and cost scenarios.

As a procedural follow-up, the board also discussed continued use of electronic clicker voting, noting it helped produce data-driven results and a smoother voting process during the town meeting.