LUDLOW, Maine — It was an open business meeting on Jan. 14 at the Ludlow town office. The selectmen met with the town manager, Diane Hines, and went over regular business and started planning for road maintenance and discussed the proposed driveway ordinance presented by the planning board.
What the town is looking to do as far as road work in the next year is surface preparation and paving 16 feet from the Ludlow road for a better platform for plowing and coming onto the roadway from the Moosebrook, McGlinn, Hemore, Russell and White roads.
“We would like to see what we need to do,” said David Stevens, chairman of the town’s selectmen.
Blake McQuade of Steelstone Industries explained that the town could regrade and shape the gravel already at the mouth of the roadway.
Part of the Moose Brook Road will possibly be going out to bid in the spring for repair.
“That gets muddy,” said Stevens. “So, we are looking at scraping that, putting a good gravel mix, crowning it and probably, at least that section, in front of the houses, adding the calcium mix (to help prevent washout), along with finding out the radius we would need. We are looking to get the infrastructure back. It is going to take time.”
McQuade suggested to scrape down three inches or so and add the gravel mix 3 to 4 inches thick. He will report back to the selectman with the cost for their budgeting purposes at their next regular meeting in February.
Hines will be tasked with exploring options among building grants and bonds to offset expense to the town for work to be done within a year or two.
“The gravel will be one job and the asphalt another,” Stevens added. “The residents over there have paid the price long enough, it is time we repair it and we want it to last.”
“We, as a board, have adopted the town of Ludlow driveway ordinance,” said Terry Beals, chairman of the planning board. “With some minor language changes, some are still pending, everyone is happy where we are with it right now. We certainly need this to protect us.”
The driveway ordinance will be in place for guidance of culverts, placement of driveways, noted Beals.
“A lot of it is state laws,” he added. “It gets the town of Ludlow parallel with the state law” … enforcement,” Stevens added.
If a job is not done correctly, it then becomes the responsibility of the town to fix.
“It also helps alleviate some of the Moose Brook Road problems, as well,” Beals added. “It helps all the way around.”
On the proposed driveway ordinance, permit required, Stevens suggested adding contractor into the wording so it reads: Permit Required. No person or entity shall establish, construct, improve, modify, or rework a driveway from a private property line to a public roadway without first filing a driveway application form, and receiving a permit from the CEO. The contractor and/or property owner shall be jointly responsible and liable for securing a permit.
The second change was adding across the town way under Siting: Where possible the offset from other entrances — across the town way — shall be a minimum of 15 feet. This shall be measured from the edge of the driveway to the edge of the other driveway excluding radii, as measured along the property road frontage.
The full ordinance can be viewed/picked up at the town office.
The selectmen voted to approve the changes to the ordinance and it will go to a public hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m. preceding the selectmen’s meeting and a vote following in March.
In other business: Certificates were signed and approved for new board members — Laura Geiger, SAD 70 school board; Therese Lussier on the planning board for three years; and Millard Wright on the planning board for one year.
The selectmen reviewed the town’s finances, which they found to be looking favorable halfway through the fiscal year.
New board members asked to attend a Maine Municipal Association meeting at Northern Maine Development Corporation in Caribou on Jan. 28.
The selectmen created a policy for emergency calls where each member, including the town manager, will be the contact person based on a rotating basis two weeks at a time.
The selectmen authorized the town manager to check into adding another thermostat to the meeting room. Currently, the only thermostat is in the manager’s office. This will create a two-zone system with two thermostats working independently to operate the same system.
The selectmen also authorized the town manager to look into installing a closer/stopper on the handicap access door to the meeting room, as a safety issue.
The town attorney is working on collecting outstanding taxes and a local property owner has been charged with cleaning up his property. He was fined $250 and must pay all legal fees. A follow-up hearing is May 4 and if the property owner does not comply, it will cost $100 per day of the violation and he will accrue the cost for the town to clean up the property.
People are still adding items to the time capsule of the town’s 150th anniversary.
An AED device has been approved for the town office.
The town of Ludlow selectmen meet the second Wednesday of each month. The next meeting is Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m. at the town office.
