The Edgecomb Selectmen sent a letter to the Maine Department of Transportation and their local legislators seeking assistance in repairing the Eddy Road. The road has been plagued for years by drainage problems and a soft shoulder.

In June, Fire Chief Roy Potter informed the board that he would allow fire trucks to travel the road “only in extreme emergency conditions.” Town officials describe the road’s condition as “a safety hazard” due to its soft shoulder and inability to support large commercial sized trucks.

In recent years, three commercial-sized  trucks have fallen through the road surface. On Sept. 8, the selectmen wrote to Maine Department of Transportation Commissioner David Bernhardt, DOT Region 2 manager Michael Burns, and their local legislators in hopes of the DOT repairing the state-owned road.

In the letter, Selectman Jack Sarmanian wrote:

“This is to define the extreme and crucial situation the town is facing regarding the condition of the Eddy Road. Our fire chief has described it as a hazardous one that no longer supports our fire trucks. Since the Eddy Road is under the state auspices we are requesting assistance.”

The selectmen voted unanimously to request a meeting with state officials to seek financial assistance in repairing the road.

Other business

In other action, the selectmen are considering seeking a memorandum of understanding regarding a proposed land swap. The town has discussed trading a tax acquired property for an adjacent section with the Boothbay Regional Land Trust. The town has discussed the swap for more than 12 years, but it hasn’t been able to meet the deal’s two conditions.

One condition is the town show the Internal Revenue Service that it doesn’t hold a tax lien on the parcel called the “Lallis Property.” The second condition is town cleans up the property prior to the exchange.

Smith said an IRS official confirmed there is no lien on the property. Now the town needs to the clean the property to fulfill the remaining condition.

However, the town isn’t sure about the Lallis property boundaries. Schmid Land Trust Preserve chairman Robert Leone checked for the properties pinnings, but the markings were difficult to find.The selectmen want to confirm the boundary lines so the town doesn’t mistakenly clean property it doesn’t own.

The selectmen are considering selling two small parcels on the Lallis property to pay for a survey. The selectmen also discussed seeking funds at next spring’s town meeting to pay for a cleanup. Smith believed if everything went accordingly the swap could be made by July.

In exchange for the Lallis property, the town wants the BRLT plot known as the “Church property.”

Smith described the Lallis property as being a better parcel, but the church plot would connect the Schmid Land Trust Preserve with direct access to the McKay Road.

Leone plans on discussing the town entering into a memorandum of understanding with the land trust to see if the organization is still interested in the swap.

The selectmen will meet next at 6 p.m on Monday, Sept. 22 in the municipal room.