Good Evening Everyone,
......
I just wanted to send you a quick update regarding the progress on the roads so far this Spring. Mark Muzzy spent a couple weeks on Wilson Pond Road and pulled some impressive boulders out of the road that had popped up over time and had become hazardous to the under-carriage of low-riding vehicles. He replaced the culverts by Lynne Mulholland's and the culvert in from of Bill and Sally Foley's place. I wanted to point out that not only did he improve the drainage capacity, but he also put up a nice filter/silt fence to try to keep the debris that washes off the road from making its way down to the pond. After doing that he spent time shaping the road and created a crown to try to promote proper drainage. I met Mark on Sanders Point Road this morning at 7AM and he is going to start on that road today. After texting with Jamie Kane, Mark is going to focus on the three culverts in a row that are sitting in the low spot before Tom Dudac's that are damaged and popped up as well as shaping the road and scraping and filling the bad pot holes. He is also going to work on the long, flat section at the bottom of the hill after LuVisi's. I had a load of gravel dumped across from Joe's driveway and will use that this summer to try to keep the corner of the hill smoothed out. Per the recommendation of Rod Gaudet I am looking at the possibilty of getting calcium put down on the roads as we have in years past to help with dust control. I'm trying to get pricing on that. That is a service Mark Muzzy does not provide.
Because of the recent spike in fuel charges the price of gravel and culverts has again gone through the roof. Mark's current price for a yard of gravel is $22/yard. That doesn't sound like a lot but it adds up.
I approached Cole Aucoin to see if he would be willing to plow our road again this year. He said he would do it again but his price has gone up. Last year his price was $12,000. It stands to reason that pricing would increase given the price of diesel. The quote is below.
November 1st, 2022- May 1st, 2023
Task Details Total Price
Plowing road when 2" or more & sanding hills and intersections needed
-Keeping road open throughout snow storms cleaning up afterwards -winging road back when needed
-Sanding when needed for normal traffic
Excluding hill
$12600.00
Including hill
$14400.00
.......
BECAUSE OF THE SCARCITY OF LABOR AND CONTRACTORS IN THE AREA I WOULD LIKE TO AWARD THIS CONTRACT TO COLE. I WOULD LIKE TO ASK EACH OF THE MEMBERS IF THEY WOULD PLEASE SEND ME AN EMAIL EITHER APPROVING THIS OR NOT. I KNOW THIS IS NOT TYPICAL AND THAT THESE DESCISIONS USUALLY GET VOTED ON AT THE ASSOCIATION MEETING IN AUGUST BUT I AM AFRAID THAT IF WE WAIT TILL THEN THE CONTRACTOR MAY BE OVERBOOKED AND NOT CHOOSE TO PLOW OUR ROAD. I'M TRYING TO BE PROACTIVE. PLEASE LET ME KNOW EITHER WAY IF YOU AGREE WITH THE INCREASED PRICE OR NOT. I WOULD LIKE TO REMIND EVERYONE THAT WE GOT THREE QUOTES LAST YEAR AND THE OTHER TWO QUOTES WERE HIGHER THAN COLE'S CURRENT PRICE IN SPITE OF THE RECENT INCREASED COSTS FOR FUEL/LABOR ETC.
To date about half of the members have paid their $500 dues for 2022. I would like to thank those of you who paid the dues and added a little extra for gravel etc. It is very much appreciated. For those that have not paid yet please do so as soon as you can.
This years annual meeting will be held at Joe and Joyce LuVisi's house at the bottom of Walden's Hill on Saturday August 6th at 10:30. Please bring a chair.
The dues for this year are $500.00 and were due by June 1st. Please send your checks to:
LWPWSA
C/O Doug Watt
P.O. Box 1773
Greenville Maine 04441
If anyone has items they would like placed on the agenda before the meeting please send them over to me and I will make sure to address them on August 6th. If anyone speaks to a neighbor and they state that they didn't get this notice via email that means I don't have a good email for them. Please ask them to reach out to me.
Thanks for your time and I hope to see you all soon.
Have a good week,
Doug
