JAY — Selectpersons are having assessing agent Paul Binette assess the town’s property at the corner of Route 133 and Hyde Road to come up with a value. The intent is to sell about 2.05 acres and a large barn.

The town bought a house, a barn and about 2.5 acres in April 2013 at auction for $36,970 as part of a plan to improve the line-of-sight at the intersection the state had deemed dangerous.

Nelson Communications Services Inc. of Center Conway, N.H., was the low bidder of six for the road project at $369,180 and completed the work earlier this year.

The project included the state taking some of the land for an easement in order to do the improvements.

The town had the remaining land surveyed and decided to keep about .21 acres to restrict access from the property to Route 133.

Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere told selectpersons that they need to decide what to do with the property, such as put it out to bid with a minimum bid, put it up for sale with a realtor or by owner or some other option.

Selectpersons tossed around ideas on Thursday, Aug. 25, on how to handle the property and decided it would be best to first assess its value.

“There is nothing saying we have to sell it right now,” she said. “We could hold onto it.”

If it does go out to sale, she said, the town should be able to recoup some of the fees and survey costs.

“I think it should be an open bid,” Selectperson Pearl Cook said.

Board Chairman Steve McCourt said he was not happy with the end result of the project.

“I’m not happy with that job, with all the money we put into it,” he said. He would have liked to see more line-of-sight improvements, he said.

Resident Al Landry said the intersection is better than it was previously.

“You can see farther,” he said.

They were not supposed to lower Hyde Road, McCourt said.

Sewer Department Superintendent Mark Holt said the state changed the design after the town entered into the agreement.

The overall project that the town partnered with the DOT on was estimated to cost $480,000.

Voters had raised $200,000 in the 2012-13 municipal budget for its share of the project.

LaFreniere gave the board a breakdown of where the money was spent.

///The town spent $51,279.57 on the property, including in-kind work to have the house demolished, remove debris and so forth. That amount included $36,970 for the property, $3,456 for equipment, $2,118.24 for labor, $1,750 for trucking, $300 for oil tank disposal and $6,171.49 to dispose of more than 99 tons of material.///

The remaining $148,720.43 was paid to the DOT, LaFreniere said.

The board is expected to make a decision on the property at its next meeting.

dperry@sunjournal.com