Alna selectmen said they aren't happy about skidder tracks on one of the town's newly repaved roads. But if it turns out the marks on Rabbit Path Road will do no harm, board members said they won't pursue the matter.

Proving who left the marks might require forensic analysis, according to a Wiscasset lawyer.

In a June 7 email to attorney David B. Soule Jr., First Selectman David Abbott wrote that the road had minor damage from the cleats on a skidder's tire chains.

Abbott asked Soule if the town should try to collect damages.

Probably not, if the damage was minor and there were no eyewitnesses, Soule responded. “(Y)ou might be able to hire a forensic expert to compare skidder tracks … but that would be expensive ...,” he wrote.

“I don't think the damage is worth the pursuit,” Third Selectman David Reingardt said at a special board meeting June 11.

The board agreed to have Reingardt seek an opinion from Harry C. Crooker & Sons, the contractor that repaved about 6 miles of Alna roads for nearly a half-million dollars in 2011.

If the company says the marks have not compromised the road's standards, there would be no basis to try to hold someone responsible, selectmen said.

“I don't think it's pretty, but … you can't just sue because it's not pretty. You have to have damages,” Second Selectman Jonathan Villeneuve said.

Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or sjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com.