New Ashford schedules bids for fire station addition, plans road work using Fair Share funds

The New Ashford Select Board directed next steps on several local infrastructure items at its July 8 meeting, including moving the proposed fire department addition toward procurement and planning road repairs funded in part by Fair Share dollars.

Chair Jason Jayko said he will put the fire department addition project out to bid by the end of the week, moving the project into a formal procurement phase. MLP Manager Ken McInerney reported he had followed up on an insurance claim that was paid on May 1 and said he will e-mail Andrew Short of Whip City to schedule a meeting to review the infrastructure report; Andrew Short did not answer a call from the chair earlier in the week.

Road Commissioner Keith Lacasse summarized recent maintenance: he obtained six-inch-minus stone from Donovan for ditch work on Ingraham Road near the Raimers property, removed five trees (three on Mallery Road, one on Roys Road and one on Beach Hill Road), and completed roadside mowing. Lacasse said septic tanks inspected across town are not showing surface leaks; he pumped the septic tank at the Fire Station and will recheck it the following day.

Lacasse said Verizon is not maintaining vegetation around its wires; he and Ken McInerney will review trees near fiber wires to determine necessary trimming or notices. He also said he will obtain a price to complete Ingraham Road using Fair Share funds; the minutes record the town received just over $28,000 in Fair Share funds.

Chair Jayko also said he will investigate grant opportunities for an alternate water source for the Fire Department and for window replacement at Town Hall; he noted the handicap ramp needs repairs and that a well could be sited at the church or tied into the Town Hall well. These items were recorded as directions for follow-up rather than finalized actions.

The board logged these follow-ups for staff and managers to pursue before the next meeting.