The Mattapoisett Planning Board met on March 20 with an agenda absent any public hearings or discussions. But that didn’t mean business wasn’t conducted. Indeed, it gave the board members plenty of time to hear from Barry Denham as he updated them on the paving of Appaloosa Way, a short private roadway off River Road.
Denham said paving had taken place sometime ago and without the developer contacting him beforehand. He said the paving was dubious due to the cold weather and subsurface viability.
“I didn’t have a clue they were going to pave it … on the day it was done, I went there about two o’clock it was down,” Denham stated. He continued, “I have no idea what temperature it was, but it was below freezing overnight and cold that afternoon.”
Denham explained that asphalt temperature was critical to the proper compaction of the material. He said that paving requires 2.5 inches of base and 1.5 inches of top, but that he had no idea of the thickness actually applied to the road base. “I have nothing to report on means and methods,” he told the board members.
Denham said he had contacted the developer’s engineer, Brian Grady of G.A.F. Engineering, but that Grady didn’t know anything about the roadway paving either.
Denham also pointed out that the interfacing between River Road and Appaloosa Way was not properly executed.
Board member Nathan Ketchell suggested that the only way to ensure the roadway had been properly paved was to provide test data from borings.
Chairman Tom Tucker instructed Planning Board Administrator Mary Crain to contact Grady and invite him to meet with the board for the purpose of certifying that the work was completed to specifications.
Regarding Brandt Point Village, another sub-division the board has struggled with for years, Planning Board member Gail Carlson brought up Board of Health certifications on the private septic system. Carlson lives in the development. That opened the door for Denham to say that a long list of to-dos remained undone, according to Ken Motta of Field Engineering, the town’s consultant for the sub-division.
Tucker asked Crain to follow up and report back on the list that had specific completion dates attached to various pending items, such as guardrails and a mail kiosk.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for April 3 at 7:00 pm in the town hall meeting room.
By Marilou Newell