PARIS — The five-member Road Plan Committee has recommended a 10-year proposal drafted by the town manager and road commissioner to fix town roads without borrowing money.
The plan calls for doing $500,000 worth in work each year, for a total of about $4.66 million over 10 years in 2011 costs. The money would come from taxes.
Selectman Ted Kurtz argued that rising prices for gas and liquid asphalt over the next 10 years will cost the town at least $1 million.
With 5 percent inflation in gas and asphalt prices, Kurtz calculated the project would cost $6.43 million over 10 years. At 10 percent interest, the total project could cost almost $9 million, he said.
If the town borrowed the money at 3 percent interest and finished it in a year or two, the cost would be $5.46 million, Kurtz said.
Robert Jewell, chairman of the Road Plan Committee, agreed that borrowing would be cheaper in the long term, but he said paying for the work year by year would give the town the flexibility to do less work or no work in a given year, if other factors eat into the budget. Borrowing with interest would force the town to pay every year, even if they couldn’t afford it, he said.
The board voted to table the issue. It set a special meeting to discuss the road plan and the budget at 9 a.m. Monday, April 16. The meeting is open to the public.
Debit cards
The town will begin accepting debit and credit cards to pay for car registration, property taxes and other services. Town Clerk Elizabeth Knox said that through Androscoggin Bank, residents will be able to pay the town in person or through the town’s website with Visa, MasterCard and Discover cards. There are fees, however. Fees range from $1.50 for payments under $50 to $300 for payments over $10,000.
Office hours
To accommodate for residents who work during the Town Office’s normal business hours, the office will be open until 7 p.m. the second and fourth Monday of each month, days when the Board of Selectmen holds regular meetings. The new hours go into effect June 11.
Paris police grants
The board voted to accept an ATV enforcement grant of $5,500 for the Paris Police Department and $1,852.92 in Maine Bureau of Highway Safety funds, also for Police Department. The ATV enforcement grant will be split with the Maine Warden Service for enforcement on ATV trails.
Appointments
The board appointed Paula Hakala to the Budget Committee and James Hakala and Robert Jewell to the Planning Board.
treaves@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
