Mills, Sheepscot Roads Subject Of Newcastle/DOT Meeting

The Newcastle Board of Selectmen and other town officials will meet with representatives of the Dept. of Transportation (DOT) Tues., Aug. 16 to discuss the condition of Mills and Sheepscot roads.

The parties will meet at 8:30 a.m. at the Newcastle town office before visiting the sites in question.

A regional director and a state engineer will represent DOT at the meeting.

Inhabitants of Newcastle v. Pine Tree Engineering Inc.The possibility of a settlement in the town’s lawsuit against Bath contractor Pine Tree Engineering Inc. following a Fri., Sept. 9 mediation hearing is “fifty-fifty,” Newcastle Town Administrator Ron Grenier said.

“If the other party is willing to settle, we are,” Grenier said. “The amount is the controlling factor.”

If the parties fail to reach a settlement in mediation, they would return to the court to request a trial, Grenier said.

Newcastle is seeking damages related to the firm’s “engineering and oversight of” a 2007 Lynch Road construction project.

The town paid the firm about $125,000 to replace a cement culvert, Grenier said when the town filed suit March 15.

The replacement, which the town alleges was the wrong size, failed just months later, Grenier said. The town later paid $100,000 to another contractor to replace the culvert again.

Della Valle to return as planning consultantThe Newcastle Board of Selectmen agreed to the terms of a contract with consultant Beth Della Valle at their Aug. 8 meeting.

Della Valle, the lead consultant during a 2010-2011 series of visioning workshops, will work with the Newcastle Land Use Ordinance Review Committee and the Newcastle Planning Board, Grenier said. The two committees will meet next month to determine how best to utilize Della Valle’s expertise.

Snow removalThe town is ready to go out to bid for snow removal, Grenier said.

This year, prospective contractors can bid on the entire town or on sections of the town. Newcastle, in years past, employed up to three contractors to plow and maintain various sections of town.

“We want to see what’s the best deal we can get,” Grenier said.

Newcastle Economic Development Committee chargeThe selectmen issued a charge to the recently formed Newcastle Economic Development Committee.

The brief document states that the selectmen established the committee “out of a desire for strengthening the town’s ability to plan, create, coordinate and respond to economic opportunities and challenges.”

The charge largely leaves questions about how to fulfill this “mission” to the committee, although it recommends a series of initial steps.

In other business, the selectmen met with Fire Chief Clayton Huntley to review bid specifications for a fire truck. The town hopes to go out to bid by Oct. 1, Grenier said.

The selectmen passed a one-page policy that addresses various legal issues related to the town website.