CORNVILLE — Voters at Town Meeting on Saturday agreed to limit spending for summer roads in the coming year after the account was overdrawn by $33,000 this past year. First Selectman Melvin Blaisdell admitted that such a vote for more money, by state law, should have come at a special town meeting and that it was his mistake not calling one.

“It’s the law. We screwed up. I was wrong,” Blaisdell told about 30 residents in attendance.

“I should have gone with a special town meeting in December,” Blaisdell said after the meeting. “I got it in too late and by the time I decided to do it, it was the holidays.”

Residents imposed a cap of $90,000 for summer roads, but some still were concerned that some roads get more attention from Road Commissioner Myron Moody Jr. than others in the summer.

Gary Corson, a of Bowman Road resident, said his road is so bad at times because of mud that he has to borrow a pickup truck and leave his car in the yard. He said James Road is bad as well.

“We want it to be passable,” Corson said. “You can send a man to the moon, but you can’t get me off my road.”

Moody said he knew the summer roads budget was going to be exceeded, but he promised to do better this year. He said the extra money went to prepare Oxbow Road for paving and that he will concentrate on the other roads this coming summer.

Corson said he was satisfied with Moody’s promise to focus more on his road.

“I’d just like to have a little done so it’s passable,” Corson said after the meeting. “I’m not complaining, Myron does a good job. It’s just that we didn’t get anything. We spent $33,000 more and we got nothing.”

Voters also agreed to raise $130,000 for this year’s winter roads account, and $40,000 for Highway Department equipment. Residents also voted to raise $115,823 for the first payment on the town’s road paving project, approved at last year’s meeting.

Blaisdell said Cornville residents agreed last year to borrow $1 million for the 12-year paving project, but the town had to borrow only $980,000 to get the work done. He said the town will pay about the same amount every year to pay off the road bond, then probably will start over again to keep the paved roads from deteriorating to a point that they can’t be fixed.

In town elections Friday, incumbent Selectman Michael Gould was re-elected unopposed for a three-year term. Moody also was re-elected unopposed, for a one-year term.

Selectman Chris Poulin announced at the end of the meeting that he and his family are moving away, so he will have to step down as selectman. A new member of the three-person board will be elected in June when voters go to the polls for the state primary election.

In other voting Saturday, Cornville residents agreed to take up to $300,000 from surplus to keep the tax rate at about $17 per $1,000 in property valuation. Blaisdell said the municipal budget came in at about $550,000, close to the same as it was last year.

Doug Harlow — 612-2367

dharlow@centralmaine.com

Twitter:@Doug_Harlow

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