Barry Denham, Mattapoisett’s highway superintendent, knows a thing or two about roads.
During the December 19 meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board, Denham again sounded the warning bell about private roadways in sub-divisions that are either incomplete or failing.
“I have advocated on every single project that blacktop be down before building permits are issued. By not doing that, we have problems,” Denham told the members of the Planning Board.
“We’ve got areas of Bay Club, Narragansett, and Ocean Breeze out there … we never required receipt of testing,” he stated.
In Mattapoisett, when sub-divisions are approved, one of the primary performance areas for the developer is the construction of roads that will serve the homes being raised. Denham has seen his share of sub-divisions where the developers have failed to adequately complete roadways while building and occupancy permits are issued, oftentimes leaving the homeowners with sub-par roadways.
Denham reported that developer Michael Salimando had blacktopped Appaloosa Way in the past few days without providing certified reports on the condition of the base layer. He said that he had been making site visits to the location and waiting for Salimando to repair portions of River Road, but was suddenly surprised to find work had been completed on the sub-division road without certification reports.
Denham said he called Salimando and questioned him on why he had not patched River Road where the sub-division stormwater management system ties into the town’s pipes, with Salimando replying, “It looked pretty good.” He told Denham he’d fix it in the spring.
Denham said he couldn’t leave it like that all winter, and that he had had the town patch the area as a stopgap measure, not as a permanent fix.
Denham said he also called G.A.F. Engineering and spoke to Brian Grady, the engineer of record, inquiring as to whether or not the base had been tested for viability before the blacktop was poured, with Grady saying he too was surprised.
Chairman Tom Tucker asked Planning Board Administrator Mary Crain to reach out to the developer and engineer to determine if reports were available.
Of the Ocean Breeze sub-division located off Prospect Road, Town Administrator Michael Gagne said that roadway construction had never been completed. Numerous attempts by the town to gain developer Scott Snow’s cooperation and compliance had failed. The town is currently undertaking legal action in that matter.
Narragansett Road, the main entrance roadway to the massive cluster sub-division Brandt Point Village, has been deemed problematic by Denham for many years. That roadway is on the to-do list for developer Armand Cotelleso. He had said that work would be completed in the spring.
The only public hearing of the night was a request by Robert Randall for a Form A, Approval Not Required, to split a buildable lot from property located at the intersection of Acushnet Road and Hereford Hill Road. That request was unanimously approved.
There are no meetings scheduled in January 2017. The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for February 6 at 7:00 pm in the town hall conference room.
By Marilou Newell