After some discussion at their board meeting April 15, Alna selectmen said they would try to have a chat with the road commissioner regarding an issue they feel is a conflict of interest.
In a separate issue, selectmen will determine whether they can give snowmobile excise tax acquired by the town to the local snowmobile club.
Michael Trask, Alna’s Road Commissioner, hired his business, Quality Services, for around $30,000 worth of town roadwork, according to selectmen. According to the 2010 annual report, Trask received $2190.50 on one account and his business received $28,460.50 on another.
Selectman Tom Smith said he had received telephone calls about the funds paid to Trask and his company for last year’s work. According to town clerk Amy Warner, the roadwork involved eight to nine weeks of cold patching of road surface at roughly $3000 per week. The total amounts mentioned at the meeting were $18,000 for labor and $4300 for materials.
Trask said the amount was to pay for two or three workers to lay cold patch, filling holes and cracks on roads all over town. The bulk of the work occurred on the Bailey Road and Rabbit Path, the “worst roads” in town. He said cold patch, unlike hot top, is difficult to work with. Its consistency (thick, heavy, sticky) is subject to outside temperatures and must be shoveled out a spadeful at a time.
“It’s miserable work,” Trask said.
Town treasurer Nick Caristo expressed his concerns at the March 22 board meeting over the ethical quandary possibly facing the town by not putting roadwork out to bid.
Brushwork completed by Trask two weeks ago raised the discussion again among residents and town officials. According to Smith, people were concerned about an approximate $1000 for one-week rental of a truck/chainsaw from Quality Services without pre-approval from selectmen. Trask said selectmen could have rented out the equipment from anyone they wanted, but it just happed to be his company.
In reviewing a document titled, “Conduct of Town Business” submitted to the board by Caristo, Smith said anytime a person administers a budget, they should not actually spend the money allocated due to conflict of interest laws.
Smith said the laws apply to commissions, boards and offices of state who are not allowed to self employ for contract work. A road commissioner is an individual officer responsible for work who should not have a financial interest, he said.
Abbott said he agreed, adding that it sounded as if Trask should not oversee the work and do the work at the same time. If a road commissioner bids on a job, selectmen could decide whether or not he would do the work. The difficulty, Smith said, is it puts selectmen in the position of overseeing the job and acting as the road commissioner in that situation.
“I would say, according to these laws, there is a definite conflict of interest,” Abbott said.
Trask said all large road projects are put out to bid. He said he’s not bothered by selectmen’s concerns.
“I work for the people,” he said, adding he had not been contacted earlier about the brushwork nor about the cold patching. “Obviously, it’s bothered them (selectmen) for more than one or two weeks.”
The town does not have its own road department, Trask said, and the stipend paid to the road commissioner position ($1235) does not pay for all the work he does. Most contractors are not interested in the work he does, he added.
Speaking of some grading work that needs to be accomplished, Abbott said it would likely not need to go out to bid. The job is estimated to cost $3000. Selectmen said if Trask made a recommendation, they would be able to make a decision as to who would get the contract.
“Nobody’s trying to pull any wool over anybody’s eyes,” Trask said, adding that towns all over the county work the same way. “We’re not doing anything that has not been okayed by the board of selectmen or the town.”
According to Warner, the town office has received a lot of calls from people interested in mowing work. She said selectmen should expect a lot of bids for mowing, as well as bids on road salt, which the town pays for.
Selectmen said they would contact Trask to see when they would be able to convene in a discussion over the conflict of interest matter. They plan to have this meeting on April 24 at 9 a.m. at the town office, depending on whether or not Trask would be available that day.
“Our trails have a reputation for being very well maintained,” she said.
The cost of maintaining the trails, use of equipment and volunteer time would amount to $7000 if they had to pay for it out of pocket, Moore said.
The club also collects dues, half of which are sent to the state. She said the dues went up this year to a $25 dollar annual membership. They send $12 of the $25 to the state. There are 48 members in the snowmobile club.
According to Warner, the town of Alna collects approximately $400 from snowmobile registration fees each year. Abbott said it makes sense to give the funds to the club.
“The registration money is only coming from people who benefit from it,” he said.
Smith asked the other board members whether the question should be put on a town warrant or whether the question could be resolved by selectmen. He suggested that if the question were posed to residents at town meeting, it would offer the club an opportunity to explain to the public a bit more about what they do. Warner said she would research Smith’s legal question.
“I’d definitely be in support of putting an article out there,” Abbott said, adding the town could offer the question each year.
Smith also asked Moore if the club accepts people who want to run a sled operated by sled dogs. Moore said “sure”, adding the club would not be responsible for the dogs. She recalled a story about one man who rode the trails with his dog team and was dragged off through the woods when the dogs chased after some deer.