As you may be aware, the town has many “private ways.” Private ways are roads built but never accepted by the town. These are built to varying levels; some are paved and appear the same as a public road while others are simply dirt roads. Many times subdivision developers save time and money by foregoing the local public road acceptance process; which, in theory, should lead to savings of a homeowner that purchased a home on a private way but is now responsible for the private way maintenance.
You are probably aware that many of these private ways are in poor conditions. Many of the unpaved roads are difficult to travel on without a four-wheel drive vehicle. In the past, the town has graded these roads, once in the spring and once in the fall, as a complimentary service to ensure they are passable.
The Town has proposed a by-law for the December 10th Special Town Meeting to address concerns with private ways in town. The Town meeting will be held at 7:00 PM at the Bartlett High School Auditorium at 57 Lake Parkway, Webster. The proposed by-law can be found as article 12 on the Dec 10th Special Town Meeting warrant on the town’s website—www.webster-ma.gov.
You are invited to a public meeting on December 6th at 6:00 pm in the Town Hall auditorium at which time a presentation regarding the proposed by-law will be given. After the presentation, there will be the opportunity to ask questions. Feel free to email specific detailed questions to me directly at townadministrator@webster-ma.gov.