Highway Committee Minutes 5-14-2026

Highway Committee Minutes 5-14-2026

RUTLAND TOWN SELECTBOARD HIGHWAY COMMITTEE MEETING

MAY 14^th, 2026

The Highway Committee of the Rutland Town Selectboard met at 9:00 AM on Thursday May 14^th, 2026, at the Municipal Town Hall. Present were Selectboard Clerk Joe Denardo, Selectboard Member Kurt Hathaway, Town Road Commissioner Dave Sears, and Town Administrator Bill Sweet.

Discussed the Class 3 and Class 4 sections of Quarterline Road and possible reclassifications.

• The State has reached out to us about these sections and if we want to reclassify the whole road as Class 3.
• There are different maps which show different sections being one class or another.
• A site visit and some other processes are needed to reclassify.
• A Class 3 road would give us payments from the State.
• Planned maintenance is being done, grading in the spring and fall and plowing in the winter.
• No action was taken.

Discussed some Route 7 North shared use path topics.

• A sidewalk permit needs to be filed with the city to allow us to construct the short section which is not in the town.
• After discussion, Mr. Sweet will complete the permit form and send it back to our consultant.
• There is a section of the sidewalk in a mapped floodplain. Our Town regulations had a permit for working in this area.
• After discussion, Mr. Sweet will reach out to the State floodplain manager for input on this.

Reviewed the 2026 Public Works Mutual Aid agreement

• There was an update to some communication information and the equipment list.
• The committee did not have any additional changes.

Discussed private water systems in town.

• An operator of a private water company contacted Commissioner Sears to see if the Town would be willing to take over the system he manages.
• They are looking for management. There are no known quality issues.
• There is some outdated equipment system wide.
• The committee was not in favor of moving forward with this request.

Commissioner Sears reviewed a recent conversation with a vendor who has sold us road paint.

• The sprayer currently being used does not work well with this new paint since it is thicker.
• They are going to provide us with a quote for a new spraying machine. This could be purchased using depreciation.
• Discussed what could be done with the current unit. There may be more than 1 party interested in purchasing it. It may be offered for sale by sealed bid.

Discussed the salt purchase plan for the coming winter season

• The bid prices will not be available for several months.
• A local vendor could transport some on a regular basis but the per ton price is not clear.
• The committee is in favor of the plan but the per ton price would need to be determined.
• The supplier will be reaching out to Commissioner Sears when they have it.

Reviewed the weather station purchase plan.

• The costs included in the next budget was for 5 stations to be in different areas around town.
• There is an additional vendor who can collaborate with the station data to be able to provide detailed forecasting for the area the station is in.
• The software vendor would be approximately $7700 to establish the service.
• The increased cost for software would mean we could purchase 2 stations with the approved budget.
• The committee is in favor of purchasing the 5 stations as planned and discuss the additional software integration during budget planning.

Reviewed the progress being made on our new plow truck.

• Its currently not expected to be ready until the end of this year.
• There are some other outfitters but they are not on the State contract list.
• No action was recommended.

Discussed the bids received for the Stratton Road culvert excavation work.

• Otter Creek Engineering advertised, received and reviewed the bids for us.
• Robert Clark was expected to attend this meeting but was unable to.
• Seven bids were received.
  • Belden Construction bid $347,000.
  • Daniels Construction bid $378,750.
  • Holstrom Excavating bid $333,333.
  • KT Hathaway bid $183,000.
  • Markowski Excavating bid $275,802.51.
  • Mountain Earthworks bid $281,050.
  • Waters Excavation bid $255,000.
• Otter Creek Engineering reviewed the bids to ensure they all met with the bid specifications. This review was not available for the meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 10:37 AM.

Respectfully submitted, Bill Sweet