The Nobleboro Select Board addressed both upcoming road improvements and deteriorating road conditions during their meeting on Wednesday, May 10. Three contractors were on hand for the opening of paving bids for East Neck Road and four residents attended to express frustration with the state of Upper East Pond Road.
Pike Industries, All State Asphalt, and Hagar Enterprises had submitted bids to pave 2.2 miles of East Neck Road stretching from Center Street to Vannah Road.
Pike Industries was awarded the contract based on their per unit price of $91.37 per ton and an estimated total of $290,373.86, based on 3,178 tons.
“That’s a good number,” said select board member Jon Chadwick after the bid was opened.
Pennies separated the per unit price between Pike and All State Asphalt, the company that won the bid last year. All State came in at $91.50 per ton and had the lowest estimated total with $282,735 based on 3,090 tons.
Hagar Enterprises Inc. of Damariscotta bid $94.50 per ton for the shim unit coat, and $90.50 per ton for the finish coat for an estimated total of $284,750 based on 3,100 tons.
Board chair Dick Spear asked about possible timelines for completion, although the bid specifications set the project end date as Oct. 15.
Road Commissioner Matt Benner said the sooner the road is completed, the less cold patch he will need to use to maintain it. “I know it’s not a huge dollar but it’s going to add up,” he said.
Hunter Farwell of All State said they would likely be able to complete the paving in mid June in conjunction with the Route 1 work they are doing for the state.
Pike and Hagar both indicated a likely completion date of late August or early September.
“You never know what Mother Nature’s going to do to us,” said Vaughan Stevens of Hagar Enterprises, noting the company lost a week due to recent storms.
The board agreed to discount the timeline as a deciding factor and focus on the lowest per unit cost.
Select board member Richard Powell Jr. said “We’re obligated if they’re all equal quality-wise to go with the lowest bid.”
Chadwick, speaking to the bid by Pike Industries, said, “In all fairness that’s the most competitive bid. It meets all the specs and the quality should be there.”
Benner said ditching would be completed and East Neck Road would be ready for the contractors no later than June 1.
Spear said he was happy the road could be completed within the allotted $300,000 budget approved by voters in March.
Pam and Duwayne Miller and Jeff and Linda Cusumano took advantage of the public comments portion of the meeting to express their concerns about the condition of several roads in the area, particularly the upper section of East Pond Road where they live.
“As a taxpayer I’m here to voice my concerns,” Pam Miller said. She and her husband have lived on the road for 22 years.
“I’ve had to comfort people in the middle of the night that have gone in the ditch,” she said. “You call the wrecker, you call the police …” and once she said the coroner was called.
She pointed out that weight restrictions had been placed on several roads but that heavy machinery and trucks use East Pond road constantly.
“No wonder the road’s going to give way,” she said.
Spear said the board had no authority over East Pond Road because it is a state road. Miller said she had made multiple calls to the Maine Department of Transportation and had not received any satisfaction.
“All of these concerns you have are valid,” Powell said. “But we can’t get anywhere with them any more than you can, It’s not that we don’t try.”
After threatening to withhold excise taxes, Miller asked why the town didn’t take the road back from the state.
“We can’t afford to fix it,” Spear said. “We’ve talked to them, we’ve complained to them. But there is nothing we can do and that’s what it comes down to.”
Miller thanked the board for listening and said she appreciated having her questions answered.
In a brief May 16 phone interview Paul Merrill, director of communications for the DOT said the last time work was done on the road was in 2021. Merrill said East Pond Road is designated as a “priority 4” road which means that it is assessed for repairs every seven years. Based on that timeline, the road would not be due for repair until 2028.
However, Merrill said the DOT does have plans to raise the grade for the 1,000 foot stretch of road leading to Route 1 in order to alleviate flooding. He said that project is expected to be completed within the next three years, possibly as early as 2024.
In other news the board approved the formation of a comprehensive plan implementation committee to do preliminary research on possible updates to town ordinances. Powell said planning board members Matthew Lewis and Patricia Stevens have already volunteered to serve on the committee along with Matthew Silverman of Wanderwood Farm, but there should be at least five members.
The board made plans to present the town’s Boston Post Cane on Saturday, May 13 to Mary Feyler, who at 102 is the town’s oldest resident.
The next meeting of the Nobleboro Select Board will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 24 at the Nobleboro Town Office.
