WHATELY — The Select Board has opted to take no action on a resident letter requesting the town consider reestablishing the road past 72 Dickinson Hill Road.
Without information on how much money it would cost to bring the road up to code, which could include the expensive project of widening the road to two lanes, board members agreed that they should wait for Melanie Chorak, the letter’s author, to provide more details before making a decision. Chorak owns the parcel at 74 Dickinson Hill Road, which is past the maintained portion.
“I cannot even think of approving this without thinking how much it will cost us,” said board member Fred Baron. He added that Chorak should “come to the town with a more concrete proposal where they cover the costs of what’s involved.”
The handwritten letter requests the town maintain the discontinued road because “much of the public uses it for various reasons all year round.” Chorak said hunters use the area and there are a few camps. She also states she has “been maintaining it since 1988. I think it was discontinued in the 1970s.”
Reached by phone, Chorak said she is “tired” of maintaining the road, primarily through plowing, as she has for 34 years and wanted to see what the Select Board would say.
“I figured I’d ask, it’s either a yes or a no,” Chorak said. “I’m just getting sick of it.”
Highway Superintendent Keith Bardwell said the town reestablishing the road “changes a lot of things” and that several needs would have to be addressed before the town could take control without liability concerns. He did say emergency responses are not a concern because fire engines are able to make it up the road in its current state.
“The applicant needs to bring it up to standards,” Bardwell said. “If it was to be widened to two lanes, that’s an expense, in my mind, that should be incurred by the applicant.”
Baron said an exact number of feet that would be reestablished would also be a helpful figure to have.
Bardwell noted there is developable land past 72 Dickinson Hill Road, but there are no permanent residences beyond the small camps. Town Administrator Brian Domina said Chorak has “no legal requirement” to maintain the road.
While the Select Board agreed to take no further action for now on the matter, if the town were to take steps toward reestablishing Dickinson Hill Road, then the final approval would come down to a Town Meeting vote. Select Board member Joyce Palmer-Fortune commented she is nowhere near ready to pitch the proposal to residents.
“I don’t feel like I’m in the position to recommend this on Town Meeting floor,” Palmer-Fortune said.
Speaking Thursday, Chorak said she will reach back out to Domina to get a full list of requirements to bring the road up to code.