PERU — Complaints about dogs running loose on Stage Coach Road can’t be settled until ownership of the road is determined, Animal Control Officer Sue Milligan told selectmen Monday night.

Residents Jim Gallagher and David Briggs complained to town officials about Steve Fuller’s dogs running loose on the road, which is off Dickvale Road.

Board secretary Angelia Barkhouse is trying to set up a meeting for the selectmen with the three men.

Milligan said she cannot rule on the situation until selectmen determine who owns the road.

Town officials found that at the 1947 annual town meeting, the town authorized selectmen to petition the Oxford County Commission to close a section of the road. They have not yet found records indicating whether a public easement was retained.

Sometime after 1947, the county gave the towns ownership of all county roads.

Selectman Jim Pulsifer said the town plows the road up to Fuller’s driveway, indicating that that section is still a town way and open to the public.

Several selectmen said Maine law requires dogs to be under either voice control or physical control at all times.

In other business, Road Commissioner Joe Roach told selectmen the contractor has completed reclaiming Gammon Road and the town road crew has added gravel where needed.

Roach also gave selectmen an inventory of culverts along East Shore Drive. He said most of them will need to be replaced when the road is rebuilt. He is investigating the feasibility of using a slip lining rather than replacing one of the 36-inch culverts on a stream that crosses East Shore Drive.

Roach said the price for calcium chloride has gone up 10 percent. However, the penalty for ordering more or less than predicted has been removed. The town purchases calcium chloride under a multitown contract negotiated by the Androscoggin Valley Councils on Government.

After extended discussion, the selectmen tabled a decision on which of four firms to use for the annual town audit. Board Chairman Lee Merrill said he would check the references provided by the firms and report at the next meeting.

At the previous meeting, a resident questioned whether the town should seek estimates on gravel.

Roach and selectmen discussed the matter and the consensus was that obtaining bids for every order of gravel would by very time consuming. They agreed that there might be an advantage to obtaining annual bids for gravel.

Roach will study the matter and selectmen will address the matter in February to have a decision before next summer’s road work.

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