Richmond needs a new vision for road maintenance. Our infrastructure is in sad shape from years of under-maintenance.
Is this a money problem? Nearly half of our budget, close to $1 million goes to maintain roads. Yet, our roads are bumpy and drainage ditches are virtually non-existant on many roads.
We have a gravel plan and a retreatment plan. Are these working?
Until we get our maintenance of existing roads under control, Richmond should have a moratorium on accepting new roads into the inventory. This is not an anti-development ploy - but a plea to not accept new roads until we can handle the maintenance of the old ones. People can keep developing - they will just have to maintain their own roads for a few years (like 10)
The town plan could address the poor infrastructure situation by asking for a management overview to see if our existing workforce is being used to the best advantage of the roads and town.
Most of our road crew have attended the Vermont Local Roads "Roads Scholar" program and received their pay raise for having done so. These courses address various elements of road maintenance. So, we can assume that our road crew is well trained. By looking at how the resources are allocated and at job priorities, maybe the highway department could work smarter and better to get the roads back in shape in a more timely fashion.
The Town of Richmond has been very supportive of requests for increases in budget. A few years ago, we added $100,000 to the retreatment (re-paving) line item. Then we added more money to the gravel line (hopefully this will buy real gravel and not the silt-laden fill that has been used and that make the roads more muddy and slippery in spring).
The town plan revision is a good opportunity to ask if we are getting our money's worth and to ask the planning commission to look at the logistics of the resource allocation and look for a better systems management solution. The local road program offers technical assistance and we should take advantage of their resources.
In short - the improvement of our infrastructure should be a priority in the new town plan and it should be a priority for the selectboard as they review town operations.
Please urge the Planning Commission and the Selectboard to set new goals and priorities for road maintenance. It really is terrible to have such miserable roads year after year. Richmond needs to take some agressive action to make the town more navigable and safer for our families.
http://www.myrichmondvt.com/article.php/Richmond_Road_Vision