AUGUSTA - The Maine Legislature unanimously advanced a bipartisan measure Monday sponsored by Rep. Mark Bryant, D-Windham, to codify a longstanding Windham tradition of the town providing winter maintenance of designated private ways. The measure was co-sponsored by Rep. Patrick Corey, R-Windham, and Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham.
"This bill came to fruition with the critical help of my colleagues, Rep. Corey and Sen. Diamond, as well as the hard work of the Barry Tibbetts, the Windham town manager," said Bryant. "This measure will ultimately protect the private property of Windham residents while also limiting the responsibility that the town must shoulder when it comes to year-round road maintenance of private ways."
Most private roads in Windham are within watersheds of endangered lakes and ponds, and several roads fall along established school bus routes. This makes maintenance of these roads an environmental health and public safety concern. According to David Nadeau, chair of the Windham Town Council, town equipment has been used for decades to maintain safety and accessibility of private ways in Windham, even after formal agreements have expired. The absence of a legal structure to designate this specific relationship between town government and private citizens puts private roads at risk of becoming town ways by non-express easement and further leaves private citizens liable for maintenance of roads that are, in practice, shared.
As amended, LD 1723 provides those standards and requires private owners to comply with specified off-season maintenance. The bill permits the town to continue providing winter maintenance on certain private roads. It also establishes a roster and a map of the private ways that the town maintains.
LD 1723 would be considered a Private and Special Law due to its limited scope and would be published in the Laws of Maine as opposed to the Maine Revised Statutes. This is critical because the Maine Supreme Court ruled that the use of public funds for the maintenance of privately owned roads is unconstitutional. Designating LD 1723 as a Private and Special law ensures that this arrangement is confined to the specific circumstances in Windham and cannot be generalized to other towns and municipalities in Maine.
The measure now heads to the governor's desk.
Bryant represents House District 24, part of Windham, and serves on the Transportation Committee and the State and Local Government Committee.
Contact:
Jackie Merrill [Bryant], c. 812-1111