York Town News
Hickory Lane acceptance will not appear on the November ballot
By Larry Favinger
YORK - The acceptance of Hickory Lane as a town right-of-way will not be on the ballot in November.The Board of Selectmen voted 4-0 at its meeting Monday night, Sept. 18, not to forward the question to the voters. The vote was 4-0 because Selectman Torbert Macdonald Jr. was not in attendance at the meeting.
Hickory Lane came to the forefront of the board's discussion at its meeting last week, when several residents of the Hickory Meadows subdivision urged the board not to accept the road until the developer brings it into compliance with the requests of Public Works Director Bill Bray.
Town Manager Robert Yandow said at Monday's meeting that there are still outstanding issues with the road and recommended it not be moved forward at this time.
Following the vote, Selectmen Chairman David Marshall apologized to the residents for the ongoing situation, but said the town has standards and those standards must be met.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, Charles Stacey, a local resident who does not reside on the street in question, also addressed the issue.
"I do not think we should accept a road that's not ready," he said, adding the taxpayers shouldn't have to pay to have the road brought up to town standards.
The Hickory Meadows subdivision is no stranger to controversy, and the town is seeking to collect the $90,000 remaining in a performance bond posted by the developer as money to be used to make the necessary repairs.
Negotiations with the insurance company holding the bond reached a point where the town attorney was called in, and Yandow told the selectmen the insurance company has agreed to appoint an adjustor to look into the issue within the next 10 days.
At a recent meeting Bray said a contractor could probably complete the work on the road in less than a week, but the developer has made no effort to correct the problems.
In other action at the same meeting, the board approved a new victualer's license for Debra Morse for Tre Ragazze in the Meadowbrook Plaza and renewed victualer, liquor, special amusement and coin operated amusement licenses requested by Annette Fazio for Fazio's Restaurant.
