Voters in the town of Jefferson will hold a public hearing at the fire station Mon., Sept. 24, beginning at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the referendum question concerning the width of Goose Hill Road.
Voters will consider the issue at the polls Tues., Nov. 6. The warrant article will ask voters to set the width so the town can determine an easement for maintenance purposes.
“We maintain that it’s three rods wide,” Selectman Jim Hilton said Sept 11. “At least one of the people on it, we don’t know how many more, don’t believe it’s that wide.”
Three rods are equal to 49.5 feet.
Town Clerk Lynne Barnikow has said a search of municipal and county records did not yield information about the width of Goose Hill Road.
The question that will appear on the Nov. 6 ballot reads as follows:
Question: “Shall the Town (1) approve a Condemnation Order adopted by the Municipal Officers on September 10, 2012 that cures defects in the Town’s title to an easement for highway purposes in the road known as the Goose Hill Road, being a strip of land three rods in width, the centerline of which is the center of the current travelled way along the Goose Hill Road running from Route 126 in Jefferson to the Waldoboro town line, and (2) appropriate no damages as compensation for the property being taken.
Explanatory Note: The intent of this referendum question is to clarify and confirm the existence of the Goose Hill Road as a town way and provide certainty as to the width and actual location of the easement.
The public hearing will be held at the Jefferson Fire Station beginning at 6:30 p.m. Mon., Sept. 24. The next regular meeting of the Jefferson Board of Selectmen will take place earlier that evening, at 6 p.m. at the Jefferson Town Office.
For more information, call the town office at 549-7401.
