CHESTERVILLE — Selectmen last week approved placing an article on the March 12 Town Meeting warrant asking voters to discontinue a section of Webber Road.

Selectmen also will seek an easement from Arnold Couture to build a new turnaround.

At issue is a gate erected by property owner Chris Osgood that must be opened for plow drivers to reach the current turnaround. Osgood obtained permission for the gate from a previous board after he complained about people littering and defecating on his property.

Osgood said he never got an answer about where the road ends. Once part of George Thomas Road, Webber Road was created after a mudslide in 2010 led to the creation of a new road entrance onto Route 41.

Federal Emergency Management Agency money was used to build the new road.

“My problem is we’re plowing and sanding beyond a gate that’s on a town road,” Selectman Chairman Tyler Jenness said.

The highway department has a key to the gate. To reach the turnaround, the plow driver has to unlock and open the gate when Osgood, whose job takes him out of town frequently, is not there.

Selectman Edward Hastings IV said the gate is pushing Osgood’s problem onto another property. No one resides there now, but complaints could arise if that changes, he said.

“The road was never discontinued. It will cost the town money for a new turnaround,” Hastings said. “We’re paying for that road to the end. We can’t stop people from going down it.”

Resident Kim Lessard said, “What about installing a camera and getting the sheriff’s department involved?”

Selectmen Vice Chairwoman Tiffany Estabrook suggested putting a streetlight up.

“This board is sympathetic, but we can’t make a town road inaccessible,” Estabrook said. “It is no different than someone throwing beer cans onto my yard. It becomes a civil issue, not the town’s.”

“We’re dealing with past selectmen’s stuff,” Jenness said. “They shouldn’t have let it happen.”

Osgood said: “I didn’t know they didn’t have authority. I tried to do it right.”

He does not support moving the gate to allow access to the turnaround.

“FEMA money was spent,” Hastings said. “They have said we can do whatever we want. We should discontinue that section of road to motor vehicle traffic. Until the residents vote to do that, we still need to plow.”

The selectmen asked road foreman Mike Cote to determine the GPS coordinates for where the road will be discontinued. That information is needed for the article that will appear on the Town Meeting warrant. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. March 12.

The board also will contact neighbor Couture about an easement for a new turnaround on his property.

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