Plains council ranks roadwork projects

In planning for next year, the Plains Town Council voted 5-1 to reprioritize the list of roads that need the most work and decided that Willis Street will be next to get a major overhaul.

Walnut Street and Central Avenue had been number three on the town’s road work priority list, but the council decided at last Monday’s meeting to instead put Willis Street ahead due to major deteriorating pavement, excess water buildup and because of the amount of use Willis gets, according to Mayor Dan Rowan.

“We get a lot of heavy traffic – heavy in volume and heavy in pounds on Willis,” said Rowan, who pointed out that the worst part of Willis is a section between Lynch and Meany, where last week public works staff members were trying to fix the poor drainage system.

The Public Works Department came up with a priority list for the town’s 13 miles of roads to be repaired earlier in the year. Farmer Street was at the top of the list and was repaired in September at a cost of around $84,000, half of what officials thought it was going to cost, said Rowan. The mayor said the money was well spent and he’s received numerous positive comments from the community, even from former Mayor Michael Brinson.

Work on the 758 feet of Willis, from the railroad tracks to Stanton Street, won’t begin until the spring. A rough estimate of the cost is around $100,000. Willis will be the second road to be repaired utilizing the District Road Tax.

A Somers engineering firm is looking into coming up with a plan to fix the Willis Street drainage problem. A system had been installed, but it was largely ineffective. Though not as bad as the former Farmer Street problem, a large body of water could be found after a heavy rain and after snow thaws near City Hall.

“The number one cause of the poor condition of our streets in town is a lack of storm water drainage,” Rowan said. “Wherever water sits either on the road or immediately adjacent to it, the asphalt deteriorates quickly,” he added. He said that in many cases people have put lawns onto the town’s easement and if the grass is higher than the road, the water doesn’t drain. In addition, some people have placed gravel in front of their homes as parking spots – again on public easement property, which causes water to stay on the road. “Nobody thinks that’s bad, but it creates a drainage problem,” he said.

In addition, he said asphalt is porous and water soaks through it and saturates the road base, eventually softening it, causing it to sink or develop potholes.

The mayor noted at the meeting that there isn’t a blanket solution that will work everywhere in town, but he said they need to come up with a comprehensive street maintenance plan. He said they might have to develop a drainage system by using a grader to create a four or five-foot ditch alongside the roads, which he believes will probably create some conflict with people. The ditches would be done on the town’s public easement, but would greatly help with the drainage issue.

Rowan said roads and the lagoon were the two biggest issues when he took office and it’s been a large learning curve, but roads are possibly the largest complaint from residents.

The town is also looking to fill a council member vacancy in Ward 2 after Sandy Chenoweth announced her resignation at the meeting. “I’ve been considering resignation for awhile,” said Chenoweth, who’s been on the council for 12 years. She said it’s mostly because of her health and responsibilities at home. Chenoweth said leaving wasn’t an easy decision and she supports the direction the mayor is going. “He is fair and honest with no personal agenda. But the three grandkids we are raising are requiring more time,” said Chenoweth, who works full time at Clark Fork Valley Hospital.

Chenoweth’s term is not up until 2019, but she agreed to stay on until the end of the year. She chaired the Parks and Recreation Committee, served on the Public Work Committee and is a council representative for the Planning Board. The position will be an appointment by the mayor and approved by council. The person would fill the vacancy until Chenoweth’s term would have been up. Those wanting to apply should provide a letter of interest to City Hall.

The next town council meeting is scheduled for Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. at City Hall.