BY MAT CLOUSER
BRANDON — The Brandon selectboard was the picture of ease and efficiency on Monday night as they met for less than thirty minutes to review a relatively light agenda.
The main topic of the evening was to review bids for upcoming paving projects on Pearl Street, Kennedy Road, Prospect Street, Paint Works Road, and Town Farm Road.
Town Manager Dave Atherton explained that a request for sealed bids had been sent out to four vendors. Of those four vendors, only Pike Industries and Wilk Paving responded with bids.
Atherton explained that while the bids were more or less similar in scope of work, the deciding factor, in his eyes, was a matter of price. Wilk Paving’s bid outlined a rough cost of $108 per ton of asphalt versus Pike Industries’ quote of $88.70.
The board quickly motioned to accept Pike Industries’ bid, which was just as quickly approved by a unanimous vote.
The projects, which will likely take place sometime in August and September, include the following upgrades: Pearl Street will receive a ¾” shim and a 1 ½” top; Kennedy Road will receive a 2 ½” base and a 1 ½” top; Prospect Street will receive a 1” shim and a 1 ½” top; Paint Works Road will receive a ¾” shim and a 1 ½” top, and Town Farm Road will receive a 2 ½” base and a 1 ½” top.
Atherton also noted that this year’s paving and culvert projects on Town Farm Road would mean that Arnold District Road would not be repaved until the spring of 2023.
In other business:
- The Town Manager’s report mentioned that the Department of Public Works had been hard at work striping crosswalks in the downtown area to increase safety. One area of particular concern has been the alleyway leading to the parking lot behind Café Provence.
DPW recently painted a stop bar on both sides of the sidewalk. Still, there were concerns that it may not be enough to overcome the precariousness of cars crossing the sidewalk and attempting to enter the roadway. “We’re toying with the idea of getting a stop sign,” said Dave Atherton.
- Board member Tim Guiles circled back to an earlier conversation the board had surrounding the parking and charging fees of the charging station downtown, and it was determined that the town would wait for an entire year’s worth of data before deciding whether it should adjust any of the rates based on usage and potential maintenance costs.
- Atherton announced that the Newton Road pump station replacement is moving forward and should be finished this year for less than the budgeted $250,000. “It saves us some money, which is really nice, said, Atherton.
- The Town announced it had closed on the FEMA buyout property at 389 Newton Road. A request for proposal was posted on July 5 for the demolition and site work. The pre-bid meeting will be held on July 19, and the bidding deadline is 2 p.m. on July 28.
- Atherton announced that the Park Street interpretative sign had been installed at the east end of Central Park, marking the official close out of the years-long Park Street project. “It came out good,” said Atherton. “It’s nice.”
