The re-paving of Mattapoisett Neck Road could cost upward of $43,000 more than originally planned, according to representatives from a longtime contracting partner of the town.
During a presentation at the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen meeting on Tuesday night, Ron Michalski and Pat Sheridan of Tighe & Bond – the firm handling the improvements – disclosed that the project’s price tag was underestimated at $240,000, and could end up costing closer to $273,000.
The Board of Selectmen was incredulous during a discussion that lasted more than a half-hour, with Clerk Paul Silva making mention of the L word: litigation. Officials speculated on various emergency funding scenarios to complete the long-in-the-works re-paving, none satisfactory to the Board, which expressed a conviction that the responsibility was ultimately Tighe & Bond’s.
Michalski and Sheridan said that there could be a way to split the difference, or that the estimate could be cut by $10- to $15,000, and that the firm could cover the remaining balance.
Elsewhere on the agenda, Old Rochester Regional School District Technology Director Ryan McGee presented requests as part of the Local Schools Five Year Capital Plan Needs for the Center and Old Hammondtown schools. The Selectmen agreed to find at least partial funding for improved capabilities now, but that future requests should be built into the education budget.
Allen Decker of the Buzzards Bay Coalition requested a letter of support for the grant that the organization is currently seeking.
Awards were presented to the Mattapoisett Water and Sewer Department, while Friday, April 26, was officially designated as the town’s Tree City Arbor Day.
In addition, the Seaport Ice Cream Slip at Town Wharf was approved for a Common Victualler License; Bowl More Lanes at 22 County Rd. was approved for a bowling alley license, while Rick’s Tavern’s billiard pool license was approved; a one-day special liquor license was granted for the business picnic at the YMCA; the Selectmen appointed Anthony J. Tranfaglia III to an associate member position on the Board of Appeals; a Phase III Road Improvement Question was approved for Town Meeting; and The Wanderer’s own Marilou Newell was appointed to the Mattapoisett Historical Commission.
The next Board of Selectmen meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 7, 7:00 pm.
By Shawn Badgley
