ORFORD — Road rage ran rampant at Orford’s Town Meeting on Saturday.
The state of the town’s roads and issues over the equipment to maintain them dominated the three-hour meeting, with one tense moment as two attendees went face-to-face and exchanged words near the floor microphone as others shouted for them to show restraint.
Voters passed a petitioned article, 42-38, for the Selectboard to form an Orford Town Road Commission that would comprise five residents with road and heavy-equipment experience to advise the Selectboard and Orford’s road agent “on issues that pertain” to the condition of the town’s roads and road equipment. The commission is also to “explore the possibility” of contracting with a private company to take over maintenance of the town’s roads from the town itself.
Voters also approved, 43-39, an amendment proposed from the floor to shift about $30,000 in reserve funds set aside for the fire department and put it into a reserve fund for road improvements. Retired Mascoma Bank executive Terry Martin offered the amendment, saying $49,000 budgeted for fire trucks already appeared sufficient.
“It sure seems like we are allocating money in the wrong direction,” Martin said.
Another article that proposed shifting half the funds collected under the land use change tax from the conservation fund to the town’s general fund — which could help with road expenses — was also approved by voters.
“We have a real problem in our town with roads, bridges and culverts,” said Tom Thomson, an Orford tree farmer and member of the town’s Budget Advisory Committee.
But Orford voters, while approving more money for road maintenance and establishing a commission to advise the road department, nonetheless appeared reluctant to end the town’s control of the road agent. For the second consecutive year, a petitioned article to change the road agent position from one appointed by the Selectboard to a position elected by voters was defeated, 56-29.
“Whatever one’s opinion about the quality of work, I find the idea of electing one of the most important people” in town “a good way to have the least amount of control,” said Mark Blanchard, speaking in opposition.
“If you have a gripe with the Selectboard because you don’t think (they’re) managing that position well enough, that’s a gripe you can have,” Blanchard said, while electing a road agent allows for “no real control, in fact less control over the position.”
Signs that the roads issue was going to dominate Town Meeting were clear from the start, when several residents called from the floor to move up the petitioned articles that were listed as the last articles for consideration to the front end of the meeting.
“We are not getting the service we deserve in this town. Our roads are in disarray and it’s not getting better,” said Jim McGoff, who took to the microphone repeatedly to voice anger over road conditions in town.
McGoff also requested ballot voting rather than voice vote on several articles, on the third time eliciting groans from attendees.
“This is a rant. We’re hearing the same bloody thing over and over again,” said John Bouzoun, as he approached the microphone from the back of the room during the discussion period over the proposal for a town road commission.
Bouzoun came forward as Justin Adams, who owns a trucking business on Quinttown Road, was at the microphone in support of the article and talking abut the “1-foot-deep potholes” that threatened his trucks.
The two exchanged words away from the microphone, their chests almost touching, as others in the room called for them to back off from each other.
Road debates in Orford have a history of getting heated. A logger engaged in a scuffle with a Seletboard member at a 2018 Selectboard meeting related to roads, and the logger was charged with misdemeanor simple assault and ultimately pleaded guilty to a violation.
This year’s Town Meeting, after initially being scheduled to take place at the bandstand on the Orford town green, was shifted to the gym at Rivendell Academy as pandemic-related restrictions have eased. Approximately 100 people attended, a majority of whom were still opting to wear face masks.
Voters approved the $1.16 million general operating fund budget, roughly flat with the prior year’s $1.12 million that was voted to be appropriated.
Voters also approved a total of $1.8 million in special spending articles, including $1.2 million to replace the Archertown Road Bridge over Jacobs Brook. A majority of the project — $960,000 — would be funded through a state Department of Transportation grant while the $250,000 balance would be evenly split between existing town funds, according to the town warrant.
Town officers were elected in March.
Contact John Lippman at jlippman@vnews.com.
