“My position is very plain,” said Aiken. “I would only be willing to do it if Council was willing to pave every other road in Caribou.”
The Mayor explained that he has had several conversations with residents who live on other chipsealed roads, and has been asked if the city can pave their roads as well, since they experience higher rates of traffic compared to the Solar Slopes neighborhood.
“When I look at the cost,” Aiken said, “there is just no way that the city can afford to pave all those roads, and that would be the only basis I would vote in favor of paving Solar Slopes.”
Previously, council members voted to hold off on using chipseal for Solar Slopes until Public Works Director Dave Ouellette was able to create some cost estimates, which were subsequently included in the packet for the August 22 meeting.
According to his calculations, it would cost the city $24,828 to apply chipseal on Solar Drive, Alpha St., and Beta St. while it would cost $59,939, or an additional $35,111, to pave the aforementioned roads.
Solar Slopes residents spoke to council during the August 22 meeting as well as the previous meeting on August 8, explaining that the chipseal is inefficient, and usually breaks down by December.
“I understand this from both sides,” said Ouellette, “from the side of living there and from the side of management. It’s tough, I know it is. I would say if there are any new developments in Caribou, we should pave them with asphalt to avoid this from happening again.”
Greg Collins, a Solar Slopes resident, spoke to council at the start of the meeting, reiterating his position that the people living in the subdivision deserve better, adding that chipseal should not be the pavement of choice for a compact area.
“Any type of traffic breaks this down to dirt,” said Collins, “which causes potholes. It’s annoying to the homeowners, who collectively pay about $89,000 to $90,000 out of those homes. Out of the city taxes we pay, we feel we deserve more.”
As a compromise, Collins also suggested “putting down a two-inch binder for the time being to spread out the budget and to work in a direction that would add stability to the roads.”
After hearing from both sides on the issue, some councilors felt the roads deserved asphalt while others, including Mayor Aiken, felt that it would only be fair if all chipseal roads received an upgrade to asphalt.
“I understand that people up there pay a fair amount of taxes, but that doesn’t even enter into this scenario,” Aiken said. “Everybody pays taxes and the same mill rate. It’s up to the individuals how much they’ve chosen to spend on their houses. That certainly doesn’t dictate what kind of roads we put in. It sounds like, in my mind, that some previous councilors may have dropped the ball when the whole subdivision was done, because it should have been paved at that time.”
Solar Slopes residents presented photos of the road to further illustrate its deteriorating condition, which Aiken commented on after the vote.
“I can see where there are problems with this road, but at the same time it’s 10 years old. I would expect to see this. Some paved streets are no better than this.”
A Solar Slopes resident asked the Public Works Director how long the new chipseal would last if this upcoming winter had the same amount of freezing and thawing as last year.
“I don’t see it as a problem for a few years after its laid down,” said Ouellette, “maybe six or seven years.”
The mayor added that the chipseal used today has improved over what was previously laid down on Solar Slopes, and that it may not present the problems seen by residents in the past.
“I’ve been seeing great results out of it,” said Ouellette. “It will never be as smooth as a hot top road, but it is better than what we were using before.”
Councilor Shane McDougall pointed out that the road was not originally built correctly, and that the substructure of the roads should be the main issue.
“A quick Google search will tell you that chipsealing is fine if the surface treatment that it goes on top of is in good condition,” Collins said, “and in this case it is not. The surface is not prepared for another treatment.”
“Anyway,” Mayor Aiken said, “it will be chipsealed.”
