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Resident tells Select Board engineer oversight fell short on North Road work
Summary
During public comment a resident criticized the engineer and contractor on North Road, citing missing erosion control, questionable culvert installations and stockpiled riprap that appears too large for trenching; the board said staff has raised concerns with the foreman.
A Royalton resident used the public-comment period to deliver an extended critique of the engineering and construction work on the North Road project, telling the Select Board the project appears to be over-specified and poorly supervised.
The resident said the job lacks adequate erosion control, that several culvert installations are made from mismatched pieces, and that stockpiles on site include riprap too large to fit the trench. "I haven't seen anything about erosion control," the resident said during public comment, adding later, "This is a Lamborghini... that's about 1,000,000 dollars over budget." The board and staff responded that they had visited the site, spoke with the foreman (Patrick) and told the contractor not to use the flagged material.
Board members and staff discussed what the engineer’s construction-management role includes and whether the engineer is—and was paid to be—on site often enough to identify these problems. The resident argued the engineer should "back up" his design, while a board member noted the town had paid for only a set number of site visits. The board said staff will continue site monitoring and has already asked the contractor to stop using certain materials.
The board did not adopt an immediate policy change during the public-comment period but later moved to authorize staff to correspond with the prime contractor to obtain written estimates and clarification about who is responsible for corrective work.
