Street Solution
In the Works?

By M. D. Drysdale

Selectboard Chair Jim Hutchinson had a "very productive conversation" with the man who owns two of the key streets in downtown Randolph, Hutchinson told the selectboard last Thursday.

Jesse Sammis of the Three Stallion Inn is the owner of record of Back Street, which runs along the railroad track behind Merchant's Row, and of Salisbury Street, which runs from Depot Square to the post office and police station. Both streets were purchased as part of railroad "leased land" associated with two other Sammis properties- the 2 South Main Street building and the Depot Restaurant.

Sammis has formally declared Back Street to be a private street, and has undertaken to plow it when it snows, while allowing the public to use it as a street.

Hutchinson said Tuesday he had had a talk with Sammis about "mutual concerns."

"We will come up with something" that will ensure the town has sufficient control over its downtown streets, the chairman reassured his board. The "something" might include right-of-ways or actual property deeds, he said.

"We're all pursuing the same goals," he stressed.

Weston Street, Too

The intersection of Weston and Main Streets will also see a little readjustment because of misunderstandings about who owns what, the selectboard agreed Thursday.

The head of the Highway Advisory Committee, Tom Schersten, presented a map which shows the exact border between Weston Street and the property of Ed Luce, who owns Tewksbury's Store.

It turns out that most of the right-hand turning lane on Weston Street is really the property of the store- and Luce would like to have more use of that property, on which he is paying taxes.

He's interested in such things as more parking or maybe a couple of picnic tables for those enjoying Skeeters Scoops (ice cream) during the summer, Schersten said.

Public Works Supt. Joe Voci had no trouble with the request.

"We propose to re-mark the roadway" he said, by putting a white line on the right hand side of the actual road.

"We're all aware that this is Ed's property," he said, and the board agreed.

Hargrace Street

The board also agreed that after this winter it would stop plowing some extensions to Hargrace Street that are actually privately owned.

The town will give the owners the opportunity to upgrade those sections and have them accepted by the town.

The board also acted to lower speed limits to 25 on the beginning of Hebard Hill Road and to 15 miles an hour around the nasty turn and bridge on Crocker Road.

GMECD Denied

For the third time, the selectboard duscussed the request of Green Mountain Economic Development Council (GMEDC) for an appropriation of $2515.

Earlier, the board had invited GMEDC director Neal Fox to answer some of the board's reservations. But Fox's appearance apparently changed nobody's mind.

Noting that the town has its own development organization, and that GMEDC has done no Randolph projects recently, the board voted unanimously not to put the $2515 in the budget.

Water Business

The selectboard, which is also the board of water commissioners, agreed to meet with its Water and Sewer Committee before the Jan. 23 meeting. The special meeting will be at 6 p.m.

The commission and committee hope to decide on what to do about the large amount of waste water that is being sent into the Randolph sewer system by the ClearSource water bottling company.

The volume of water is far in excess of what the company has a permit for, because of the washing of bottles before they are filled with water. The discharged water is almost as clean as tapwater, according to Selectboard Chair Jim Hutchinson, but the volume still may pose a capacity problem.

The W&S Committee earlier proposed a new impact fee of $69,000, which naturally was alarming to ClearSource officials, and informal discussions have been going on.

Other Business

The board gave permission to Public Works Supt. and Acting Town Manager Joe Voci to buy a new Ford F-250 pickup from Ted Green Ford in Stockbridge for $20,951.

The old one, Voci noted, has been serving the town for 13 years and is "uninspectable."

He warned that later this year the town will need a new loader for approximately $125,000. After that, the town should be OK for three years, he said.

Money for the truck will come out of the existing Highway Equipment Fund.

Voci also received approval to give a raise to Aaron Perez, the licensed chief operator of the sewage treatment plant. Salaries are so low that it's been difficult to find a new licensed operator, whose salary is pegged to the chief operator's salary, he said.

The chief's salary will rise from $34,400 to $38,980.

Finally the board issued an appeal for suggestions. It's trying to decide to whom the 2006 Town Report should be dedicated. The decision must be made by Jan. 9.