NEW GLOUCESTER — The Maine Department of Transportation will begin a drainage improvement project starting in mid-June from the Cobb’s Bridge Road/Gloucester Hill Road intersection northerly on Route 231 for a distance of 525 feet to the town’s municipal library.
MDOT Construction Manager Ryan Hodgman told the board Monday that a closed drainage system will be installed with a 3 foot paved shoulder for a construction cost estimate of $265,000, solely funded with state funds.
Hodgman said this is part of a continued drainage improvement effort that began in 2007 south of the Cobb’s Bridge and Gloucester Hill Road on Route 231.
The project aims to reduce the required ditch maintenance to remove winter sand. And, the plan is complementary for the town to install a municipal sidewalk project in the future.
Modern catch basins and under drains will include installing Slipform concrete curbs, loaming and seeding and removing underlying ledge while maintaining the historic character of the lower village which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Within 500 feet of the project, property wells will be tested to measure baseline quality and quantity of water.
Ledge blasting is required, Hodgman said. Building foundations and walls will be videotaped at the start of the project to document impacts from blasting.
Problems with road salt draining into private wells has been an issue, Hodgman said, and the under drains will help storm water move down the hillside.
Resident Debra Smith of Cobb’s Bridge Road was told that well water testing includes measuring quality and quantity of drinking water; testing for nitrates, nitrites, chloride, E. coli bacteria and metals.
In other business, Sunset Shores resident Mark Cummings pleaded with the board to work with him to regain his vacant 2.1 acre parcel of land on the Sunset Shores Road. The land has a deed restriction that prohibits camping, construction of a dwelling and no livestock or horses.
The town acquired the property for non-payment of taxes in 2011, and voters authorized selectmen earlier this month to dispose of all foreclosed properties in a manner and under terms that the board finds to be in the best interest of the town.
Cummings pleaded with the board. “I’m here to throw myself at the mercy of the board to protect my property. I had no idea. I will adhere to any conditions.”
Town Manager Sumner Field told the board that until 2004, outstanding code violations determined that the property was a nuisance and a junkyard.
However, Field said he received letters, phone calls and emails from neighbors that the land needs to be cleaned up and sold.
The board tabled action to get more information on the condition of the land before making any decision.
Finally, the board after 10 months of deliberations, updated the procedure for appointments to standing boards and committees with unanimous approval.
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