MINOT — The Shaw Hill Road culvert project cleared its final hurdle, Town Administrator Arlan Saunders told selectmen Tuesday.

 

“I received the permit from the Army Corps of Engineers; we are good to go,” Saunders said.

 

For several years the town has sought a solution to the problem of Indian Brook flooding Shaw Hill Road repeatedly.

 

In January the town received final approval from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a plan that would fix the problem once and for all.

 

The town was awarded a mitigation grant for $38,507 of the project’s total $51,343 cost to replace two existing culverts with a single 50-foot, 6- by 8-foot box culvert that’s open on the bottom to allow natural stream flow.

 

Then, in mid-April, the town learned that Indian Brook had been classified as a tributary for migrating salmon and that a permit certifying that the project would not cause them undue harm was needed before it could go forward.

 

At the time, the selectmen’s concern wasn’t that the permit request would be refused, but that the project might be delayed to another construction season — and who knew if the grant money would still be available.

 

Saunders noted that the town is still shooting for a narrow window within which to complete the project. The permit stipulates the work must be undertaken between July 1 and Oct. 15.

 

This fits with the town’s desired schedule. The town would like to complete the work before school starts, as it will require closing the road to through traffic for at least a few days. That would be difficult if school is open — the Minot Consolidated School is on Shaw Hill Road.

 

Saunders said he has ordered the culvert from American Concrete.

 

“It takes six weeks for them to cast. It will be tight,” Saunders said.

 

He said the culvert will be cast in five 10-foot sections, each weighing about eight tons.

 

In other business, selectmen signed the warrant for the June 12 vote to amend the town’s land use code and to adopt the Pace Ordinance.

 

The Planning Board is recommending two minor revisions in the ordinance’s definitions of a driveway and a back lot. The Pace Ordinance allows residents access to a low-interest loan program for energy-saving projects.

 

Selectmen also voted to nominate John Hawley of Mechanic Falls to serve on the Maine Municipal Association Legislative Policy Committee.

 

Selectmen commended members of Boy Scout Troop 139 for their assistance placing flags on veteran’s graves.