A large dot marks the only home on dead-end Wyman Road, off Federal Road, in Livermore. Selectpersons voted Thursday, Nov. 3, to have Jamie Roy snowblow the town’s section of the road this winter and next. Google maps screenshot
LIVERMORE — Selectpersons Thursday night, Nov. 3, unanimously approved contracting with Jamie Roy of Livermore to snowblow the town’s 135-foot portion of Wyman Road, contingent on his having appropriate insurance coverage.
Roy’s bid was “on an as needed basis for $5,000 which is based upon 20 storms at $250 apiece.” The contract approved by the town’s attorney is for Oct. 1, 2022, through May 15, 2023, and Oct. 1, 2023, through May 15, 2024.
Administrative Assistant Aaron Miller said Roy’s bid was the only one received. There had been no responses to a request for bids due Oct. 25.
In September Selectpersons took no action on a proposal to discontinue Wyman Road to winter maintenance.
Does the town have a formal snow removal plan, attorney Ron Guay, who is representing Wyman Road property owners Chris and Addie McHugh, asked Thursday. He also wanted to know what would determine when Wyman Road would be snowblowed.
Selectperson Brett Deyling said he lives on a dead-end road with about 50 other homes on it. There are times that road is impassible, the town has limited resources and the road is eventually cleared, he noted.
“I don’t complain,” Deyling stated. The town does the best it can, he added.
When Guay asked how much it cost to have the town plow Wyman Road, Deyling said it would depend on how many times the plow had been stuck there. If a truck is stuck on that road, it can’t be plowing other roads in town, he noted. There is an order of importance, a road serving one individual versus one that serves 50-60, he stated.
It makes more sense to pay in money than other resources, not to use those resources in one resident’s driveway, Deyling said.
Chris McHugh, who owns the only residence on Wyman Road, said the plow truck drives down once then goes back up. Guay asked how long that usually took – an hour, he suggested – and McHugh said no, five minutes. “In the 16 years I have lived there, the plow truck has gotten stuck three times,” McHugh said.
Highway Foreman Roger Ferland had previously said it cost $500 for a tow truck every time a plow truck got stuck.
In 16 years it cost $1,500 for a tow truck, you are willing to pay $5,000 to have the road snowblowed, Guay noted.
“We are not looking at this strictly as monetary,” Deyling said.
Livermore has 46 miles of road to clear and only four trucks, Selectperson Chair Mark Chretien said. Plowing Wyman Road is hard on the truck, he noted.
If a truck goes off the road it may be out of service for repairs, Selectperson Scott Richmond said. “It could be more than three times we have had to pull a truck out, I can’t keep track.”
Selectperson Randy Ouellette said the highway crew who plow Wyman Road should be asked how long it typically takes to plow it. McHugh may be biased, he added.
A turn around agreement for Wyman Road is not in place, the town doesn’t want one, Deyling said. McHugh offered to approve one.
“I’ve been down there, there is no place to turn around,” Chretien said. He asked McHugh if the changes he had agreed to had been made. McHugh said they had not due to rain issues.
“We are not going to plow a driveway,” Chretien said. “After 135 feet it is not town property.”
Guay asked whose property it was, if a survey had been done. He maintained part of Wyman Road is not a private driveway.
“We are going by the tax map,” Miller said. The town hasn’t paid to have a survey done, the town’s attorney recommends using the 135 feet on the tax map, he noted.
Taxpayers elected this board to see that resources it is entrusted with are wisely used, Deyling said. “We have decided it is more economical and effective to snowblow Wyman Road,” he added.
Guay said the snowblowing contract for Wyman Road raises concerns. Unless it is tightened up it can be argued it is the discontinuance of Wyman Road, he noted. He also was concerned about when Wyman Road would be cleared.
With no snowbanks Wyman Road would be better, there would be no water running down it, Selectperson Randy Ouellette said.
Deyling cut off the debate with his motion to contract with Roy.
After the vote, resident Ash Lakin said there are a lot of people in town who don’t know what is going on. A subdivision was supposed to be built there, provide taxes to the town but that never happened, he noted. “I think there is a point where we need to consider different options,” he stated.
Chretien said the town has to go through a process.
Richmond said townspeople would be voting on the discontinuance of Wyman Road to winter maintenance, the earliest that could happen would be in 2024.
Wear and tear on the truck, the weight of pushing snow up a 45 degree driveway are things to consider, Lakin said.
“[McHugh] should be thanking us for plowing him out the past 16 years,” Ouellette said.
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