Jay Witcher, who lives at the end of Carpenter Road, requested the money so he could buy a snowplow for his pickup truck in order to do the plowing himself.
Town Manager Butch Asselin explained to councilors at their regular meeting on Jan. 11 that the Public Works Department had been plowing “for some time” the 200-foot-long stretch of gravel road that includes a bridge located off Back Ridge Road. But he said the bridge leading to Witcher’s property was “weak” and that plowing crews were “taking their life into their hands” every time they plowed it.
Witcher told the council he had been living on his property for 40 years and that the town typically sent a small plow truck from the Parks and Recreation Department to plow him out. Witcher’s home is the only residence on Carpenter Road.
According to Chris Stewart, public works director for Houlton, Witcher had an agreement with the town over the past 40 years. He described the road as essentially the landowner’s “driveway.”
“The handshake agreement was they [the town] could use gravel out of a pit there in return for plowing the road,” Stewart said. “The original landowner wanted the gravel gone so he could build a house there. And for whatever reason, the town kept on maintaining it.”
At a Dec. 14 council meeting, when the item of discontinuing Carpenter Road first was introduced, Witcher gave councilors a brief background about how the town came to plow the road.
“This got started about 40 years ago, when the person I bought the place from made a trade with the town for gravel,” Witcher said. “In return the town would plow the road. After they stopped taking the gravel, the snowplow drivers just kept it going for the past 40 years. My understanding is the person that lived there before me did their own plowing across the bridge.”
Witcher said he consulted with an attorney who advised him that all the town had to do was simply stop plowing the road, and municipal officials did not have to go through the formal steps of discontinuing the road.
“If the town stops, I have the right to plow the snow,” he said. “That should be all there is to it.”
Witcher stated he was opposed to the town “abandoning” the road for fear he would become liable for any damages, should they arise.
Stewart said Thursday he had concerns with the town’s public works department continuing to plow the road with its large vehicles, considering the bridge is only about 10 feet wide. There is about a 15-foot drop from the bridge into the Captain Ambrose Bear Stream — formerly known as the B Stream.
The bridge has no formal side railings, only pillars with a cable running the length. Compounding the problem, Stewart said, was the fact that once the plow truck was across, it took considerable maneuvering to turn the truck around so it could drive back out.
“[The road] dog-legs hard to the left when you go across,” Stewart said. “There is no good place to get turned around. It takes the driver a good half-hour to get turned around.”
At the Jan. 11 meeting, Asselin said the town’s legal counsel suggested $1,000 was sufficient funding to pay Witcher for the damages he would sustain.
Councilor Jane Torres said she disagreed with the idea of giving Witcher money to buy a plow.
“I sympathize with Mr. Witcher, but I don’t think anyone would buy me a snowplow,” she said. “I know that sounds a little cold.”
Councilor Rosa McNally disagreed, saying Witcher had to have some way to get across the bridge to get to his property.
She asked that the $1,000 amount suggested by the town attorney be amended and instead successfully got a motion on the floor for it to be changed to $3,163. Her amendment passed by a a 3-2 vote with councilors Brent Dickison, John White and chairman Matt Carr voting in favor and councilors Wade Hanson and Torres opposed. By town charter rules, the chairman may only cast a vote in the affirmative to break a tie.
Councilors then voted 3-1 (with Torres opposed) in favor of the amended motion to pay Witcher $3,163 in damages.
