Cheshire Still Has No Answers On Greylock Road Status
CHESHIRE, Mass. — After some research, the town is still unsure if it is responsible for the unkempt Greylock Road.
Town Clerk Christine Emerson told the Selectmen on Tuesday that even after going back as far as the 1920s in the town's records, she could find no information on whether or not Greylock Road is a town road.
"I went back all the way to 1920 and I can't find a thing," she said. "I didn't find anything in the minutes."
Because there is an interest in logging along Greylock Road, the town was asked if it would maintain the road and make it drivable. The town maintains up to the last house on the road and is hesitant to do the same for the rest because it be would be a massive undertaking.
Highway Superintendent Blair Crane said he did do some work about a half mile beyond the last house but anything beyond that point gets difficult to navigate.
"We put in some ditches and cleaned up the ditches that were there to an extent but the farther you go the worse it gets," Crane said. "I put my vehicle in four-wheel drive and I get to a point where the trees are touching my mirrors on both sides and I have to turn around."
Emerson said she found nothing in the selectmen's minutes or Planning Board minutes, however, Selectwoman Carol Francesconi said the road came up some years ago when a house was built. She said she thought the road was an abandoned county road and not the town's responsibility.
"We came up with it was a road that the town never accepted but that is just from when they put that last house up there," she said. "No one questioned it at that point ... I don't think we have an obligation but that is just my guess."
Emerson suggested that there may be mention of the road in zoning board meeting minutes. Also, she said New Ashford might have some insight.
"It's an old stage coach road that goes over into New Ashford," she said. "We might be able to check with them to see what they say the road is. It is another place to look."
Crane said another option is to contact the state Department of Transportation because it has the old county maps.
In other business, Crane suggested trading in the town's 2003 front-end wheel loader and using Chapter 90 road funds to purchase a new one.
"The loader is the one thing no matter what happens in this town, we have to take it out of the shed," Crane said. "If you have a tree down, a road that is blown out or whatever you are doing, that is always the piece of equipment that if you start it, it has to run."
Crane said the current loader has 12,000 hours on it, is rusted and in bad shape.
The selectmen said they had concerns about the trading process and were not sure if the loader would have to go out to bid or need town meeting approval to trade in.
Crane said he would present a more detailed report at a future meeting.
He also said the Highway Department mowed the Cheshire School campus last week and it took 18 hours to mow can clean up the fields.
"We definitely invested some hours there for sure just bringing it back but it doesn't look bad," he said. "When you mow something for the first time it takes a while to get the rhythm of it but I think it will get shorter as we push forward."
The Fire Department received a $7,139 grant from the state that the department plans to use for technology upgrades for its trucks.
Tags: roads, unaccepted roads,
