STRONG – Residents narrowly approved a $210,000 paving project on the Pond Road at a special town meeting Tuesday evening, utilizing a combination of public funds and private donations to convert a little more than a mile of gravel road to asphalt.
A written ballot vote passed the project by a razor-thin majority of 38 in favor and 36 opposed of paving 1.1 miles of the Pond Road, in between the intersections with Beanie’s Beach Road and Storybook Lane. Residents opposed to the project questioned the impact the project would have on the roadwork schedule in the coming years, while supporters argued that Pond Road represented the most heavily-trafficked town road in Strong.
In 2017, a total of $40,000 in private funds was offered to the town to pave the Pond Road. One of the residents who put up a $20,000 donation said Tuesday that she the offer had been made in part to ensure that emergency services could reach residences on or near the road.
After learning about the donations, the Board of Selectmen developed a proposal to use a $170,000, three-year loan to pave 1.1 miles of the Pond Road. The project would not require additional appropriations to fund, as the plan proposes to repay $40,000 and pave the rest of Burbank Hill Road in 2019; repay $80,000 in 2020; and make a final payment of $50,000 plus interest in 2021. Each year, at the annual town meeting, residents accept roughly $19,000 in state Local Road Assistance Program funds and authorize the transfer of $60,000 out of surplus funds into the Tarvia account. Those appropriations typically represent the town’s paving budget.
According to Selectman Mike Pond, the idea was to not pave 0.8 miles of the Chandler Road, a dead-ended road only accessible from Route 4 in the north, in 2020.
Annual savings of $5,000 to $7,000 would be garnered through the project, selectmen have said, basing that estimation on the cost of extra gravel, extra grading and extra plowing required to keep Pond Road passable year-round. Some residents said those savings were not sufficient to cover the cost of the undertaking, but Pond and others rejected that view.
“It isn’t about paying it back,” Pond said, referring to the maintenance savings. “It’s about advancing the roads.”
A request to use a secret ballot for a motion allow the board to secure the $170,000 loan was approved, with a total of 74 votes cast by residents in attendance. The final vote, 38 in favor and 36 opposed, brought cheers from supporters of the project.
Residents also approved repaving and repainting the town’s tennis courts on the Burbank Hill Road. Neighbors reported that the courts saw heavy use, despite requiring approximately $12,500 in estimated repairs.
Selectman Rodney Spiller said the court’s conditions required a total resurfacing. “Patching it isn’t going to fix the problem,” he said.
In previous years, the town had saved $4,600 to go toward the project.
After a motion to raise and appropriate $3,000 for the courts, residents suggested appropriating the balance from surplus to complete the project. An amendment to add that component to the motion passed by a wide margin.
The Chandler Road should be reopened during the rest of the construction project to ease traffic congestion and enable emergency vehicles to get through.
SMH, Chandler road residents made the offer to the DOT, but the DOT chose not to reopen Chandler road during the construction project. Their project, their call.
From the information that I have, it was the Town of Strong residents (mainly the homeowners on the Chandler Road) that were the ones that closed the road to traffic. DOT was not involved and would not have the authority to say yes or no to opening or closing.
If these residents chose to do so, they could cover the signs and let traffic go through. It would ease travel for all.
It was my understanding first hand that the Canadian Geese were Chandler Rd. residents main concern. It was never an issue until they made it one.