[Adopted 1937: c. XVI, s. 10; amended 1973; 4-7-1997 ATM, approved by Attorney General 7-2-1997 (Ch. XV, § 17, of
the 1973 Bylaws)]
When required by public necessity and/or in the interest of
public safety, the following types of maintenance and repairs may
be performed by the Town on approved private ways at a time and in
a manner approved by the Select Board:
A.
Grading, including the furnishing of gravel, fill, or other materials
as required properly to repair the roadway surface;
B.
Maintenance, repair, or replacement of drainage systems, including
piping, culverts, catch basins, and other drainage structures;
C.
Patching of potholes and heaved areas;
D.
Crack sealing as required to preserve the integrity of the roadway
surface.
In addition, such maintenance and repairs may be undertaken
upon receipt of a petition signed by the owners of abutting land whose
frontage collectively represents a minimum of 51% of the total frontage
of the private way. Any maintenance and repair project subject to
betterment shall have betterments assessed to all abutting properties
within a range of not less than 1/3 nor greater than 3/4 of the total
project costs.
The annual expenditure of Town funds on any individual private
way for the above-listed maintenance and repairs shall not exceed
$500 per mile or any portion thereof for labor and materials. In the
event that maintenance and repairs in excess of this amount shall
be required, betterment charges shall be assessed to all abutters.
A cash deposit shall not be required prior to undertaking maintenance
and repairs subject to betterment under this section.
Neither the Town nor its officers or employees shall be liable
on account of any damages resulting from such maintenance and repairs
having been undertaken.
Private ways subject to the provisions of this article shall
have been opened to public use for six years or more. A complete list
of all private ways to which this article applies shall be compiled
by the Town Manager or his designee, which list shall be subject to
review and approval by the Select Board within 90 calendar days of
the date of adoption of this bylaw and thereafter reviewed annually.
The Select Board may adopt regulations to implement the provisions
of this bylaw.
